Viva Las BSC!
by BSCft
Summary: The never-before-read Super Special. The BSC, along with Kristy's family, is on a school trip to Las Vegas!COMPLETED
1. Prologue Mallory

_Dear Ben,_

_I bet you didn't expect a letter so soon! I'm actually_

_writing this from the plane, I think we're somewhere_

_over Illinois. I still can't believe you didn't get to _

_come to Las Vegas with us! It would be so much _

_more fun with you here! But I guess this school _

_break was also a good time for you to go back to _

_Australia to visit. Hope you're having fun! I know I _

_will be, too!_

_Miss you,_

_Mallory_

I guess you're a little confused as to what's going on, right? Well, let me set you straight. My name is Mallory Pike, and I'm eleven years old. I live in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Ben is a friend of mine (ok, so he's kind of my boyfriend) And, at the moment, I am on a plane heading to... LAS VEGAS!

And it's not just me, either! Practically everybody I know is going!

You see, my school (Stoneybrook Middle, I'm in the sixth grade) is on a two-week spring break right now. But, while we were on break, there was an optional student-trip offered to anyone who wanted to go. We get to spend two weeks in Las Vegas! Sure, it's still school, so we have to keep a journal while we're on the trip and we have to do some kind of project with that, but I don't mind at all, because I love to write! I probably would've kept a journal even if I didn't have to.

I think this plane is just filled with people I know. All of my friends from school are going. But, it's not even just them. My friend Kristy, who is two years older than me and in the eighth grade, is on the trip along with her whole family. Kristy (who is also the president of the Baby-Sitters Club, to which I belong) asked her mom if she would like to chaperone the trip, since her mom has always wanted to go to Las Vegas. Not only did her mom say yes, but after discussing it with Watson (her husband, Kristy's stepdad), Watson decided that it would be a fun vacation too, so he decided to bring their whole family! And when I say whole family, I mean it! Kristy is the only one I know with a family as big as mine (I have SEVEN brothers and sisters, included triplets!)

I guess now is as good a time as any to introduce you to my friends, since they're all on the trip. And I'll start with Kristy, since you already know her.

Kristin Amanda Thomas (or Kristy, as everyone calls her) is such a tomboy. She loves sports (her favorite is softball, she even coaches a kids team) and she never wears anything but jeans and either a turtleneck or a t-shirt. I guess this is all because of growing up with three brothers. She has two older brothers, Charlie, who is seventeen, and Sam, who is fifteen. She also has a younger brother, a seven year old named David Michael. Kristy grew up pretty normal, with her brothers and her mom and dad. But just after David Michael was born, Kristy's dad just walked out on the family. Can you believe someone would do that? Well, that was pretty rough on Kristy's mom, but she got through it. And just last year, she got married again. TO A MILLIONAIRE! I'm not kidding, either. His name is Watson Brewer, and he lives in an honest-to-god mansion, where Kristy gets to live now! And this is where Kristy's family gets crazy. Watson has two little kids from his first marriage, Karen, who is seven just like David Michael, and Andrew, who is four. They alternate every other month between their dad's house and their mom's house. And if that wasn't enough, just after getting married, Mr. and Mrs. Brewer decided to adopt a child. They adopted the cutest two year old girl from Vietnam named Emily Michelle. After that, Kristy's grandmother, who she calls Nannie, moved in with them. And all of them, from Emily Michelle to Nannie, were on the trip! Needless to say, her section of the plane was NOISY! It was no wonder Kristy decided to sit with us SMS students instead.

On this trip, we are assigned three to a hotel room. Kristy is going to share a room with Abby Stevenson, our newest BSC member, and Abby's twin sister, Anna. Abby is a really neat person. She just recently moved to Stoneybrook from Long Island, which is in New York. Abby is a lot like Kristy, a tomboy who's really into sports (but Abby prefers soccer to softball). Abby's also really funny, she's always cracking really corny jokes or dancing or singing (usually Elvis). She's really excited about getting to see all the Elvis stuff in Las Vegas. Abby and Anna are also Jewish, and they recently had their bat mitzvahs, which is a rite of passage that Jewish kids go through when they turn thirteen. It's a really dibble ceremony that we all got to go to. By the way, _dibble_ is a word my friends and I thought up, it's short for _incredible_. The one thing I don't know much about with Abby is about her father. He died in a car accident when she and Anna were nine years old. Understandably, she doesn't like to talk about it much. I don't know Anna very well, just that she's a lot quieter and reserved than Abby, and that she's very into music. She plays violin in our school's orchestra.

Sharing a room with me is Jessi Ramsey, my best friend, and Mary Anne Spier, another of the eighth graders in the BSC. Jessi and I are best friends because we have so much in common. We both love reading, especially horse stories. Our favorite is Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry. Have you ever read about it? It's about this horse that lives on an island off of Virginia and... well, I won't bore you with the details, but trust me, you should read it. It's excellent. Anyway, Jessi is eleven and in the sixth grade like me. We also are both the oldest in our families, and we both feel that our parents treat us like babies.

Of course, like any good friends, we have our own seperate interests, too. I'm very into writing, I want to write and illustrate children's books when I get older. Jessi doesn't like to write, she prefers to read. Her biggest talent is her dancing. She is this amazing ballet dancer. She goes to a special school in Stamford, which is the nearest city to us. She actually had to audition to get in there, and she's the youngest in her class! She's danced the lead in several of their productions, and I always go see her. She even looks like a dancer, with these long legs and graceful movements, and she always has her hair pulled back.

The other difference between us is that I'm white and Jessi is black. But that doesn't make any difference to us. She could be purple and she'd still be my best friend!

Mary Anne is one of the sweetest, most sensitive people I know. It's probably a result of the rough life she's had. She's an only child and her mother died when she was just a baby. Mary Anne was raised all alone by her father, and he was super-strict with her. He wouldn't let her pick out her own clothes, and her room was decorated like a nursery until she was twelve years old! What changed when she was twelve? He fell in love! I'll get to that in just a bit. Now, Mary Anne has a lot more freedom. She picks out her own clothes, and always dresses very neat and preppy. Her hair, which used to be long and worn in two braids, is now this cute short, stylish cut. And she has a boyfriend! His name is Logan Bruno, and he is so cute! He's from Kentucky, and he has a southern accent and he looks just like Cam Geary (Mary Anne's favorite movie star). From what I've told you, none of that sounds like anything the old Mr. Spier would have allowed, right? Like I said, he fell in love... with the mother of another BSC member!

Meet Dawn Schafer. Dawn (who would be sharing a room with Stacey McGill and Claudia Kishi) moved to Stoneybrook in seventh grade, after her parents got divorced. Up until then, she had been living in California! Cool, right? Dawn is such a California girl. She has this super-long blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. She also loves health food and can't even stand to eat sweets or red meat. She's also very passionate about environmental issues, but luckily, she's very nice about it and doesn't lecture people. We call her style of dressing California casual. She says she doesn't care about trends or fashion, she just dresses how she likes to, in cool, breezy, California-type clothing. So how did Dawn's mom and Mary Anne's dad get together? Well, that happened long, long ago, when they were both in high school, here in Stoneybrook. They dated in high school, but Dawn's grandparents didn't approve of Mr. Spier. So, after graduation, they drifted apart, and each married their respective spouses, had children, and went on with their lives. But when Dawn's parents divorced and she moved here and met Mary Anne, the two of them were looking through their parents old yearbooks and discovered the secret! And the rest is history. Dawn's mom and Mary Anne's dad soon married, so Dawn and Mary Anne became stepsisters.

But it gets pretty sad. Back before the marriage, Dawn's brother, Jeff, wasn't happy in Connecticut, so he moved back to California to live with their dad. And, just recently, Dawn was feeling the same way. She loved her friends here, and her new family, but she's a California girl at heart and couldn't deal with the winters here, so she moved back to California. And here's some exciting news... Dawn was going to be joining us in Las Vegas! She wasn't on the flight with us, but she was going to fly in from Los Angeles and meet us at the airport. I couldn't wait to see her again!

Sharing a room with Dawn was going to be Claudia Kishi and Stacey McGill. Claudia and Stacey are the coolest people I know. The two of them are best friends and they are so much alike. Claudia is so pretty. She's Japanese-American and has this creamy complexion, almond-shaped eyes, and long, silky black hair. She's also an immensely talented artist. She can create anything. She paints, sculpts, draws, photographs, papier-maches, and whatever else is left! She even takes her love of art to the way she dresses. She can throw the weirdest stuff together and make it into the coolest outfit, and she even makes some of her own stuff. For example, on our flight today, she was wearing red-and-white polka dotted stirrup pants with this huge, oversized bright purple blouse. She had recently taken her paints to the blouse, and had written "Viva Las Vegas!" all over it in different colors and handwritings. With all this, she was wearing Day-Glo yellow high-tops. Sometimes, I think Claudia tries to work every color in the rainbow into her outfits. She had her long hair pulled back with a barrette, and she had glued miniature playing cards and dice all over the barrette. I guess I should also mention that this is one of Claudia's tamer outfits!

The most surprising part of the outfit was that the words on her blouse were all spelled correctly. I guess she had looked them up in a book. Claudia is not the world's best student, and her worst thing is spelling. You should see her entries in the BSC notebook. Luckily, we're all used to her "unique" way of spelling words. Aside from art and bad spelling (ha!), Claudia is also addicted to junk food and Nancy Drew books. In fact, at the moment, she was asleep in the seat next to me with a Nancy Drew book open covering her face, and a Kit Kat wrapper on the tray table. She has to hide all of these things all around her room, because her parents don't approve of the books (they both feel that she should be reading fine literature) and they want her to eat healthy.

Stacey is a fashion-plate just like Claudia, but in a different way. First off, they look nothing alike. Stacey has blonde hair that she almost always keeps permed, and blue eyes. And while Claudia prefers to dress creatively, Stacey likes to shop at high-end boutiques and department stores in New York City. How does she get to do that? Her dad lives there! The sad part is, it's because her parents are divorced. Stacey lives with her mom in Stoneybrook, while her dad lives in New York City. Stacey actually grew up in New York (lucky duck). She goes to visit him a lot and she always comes back with a few new outfits. She's a very stylish dresser, wearing whatever is the latest style in the New York boutiques. I wish my parents would let me wear the kind of clothes Stacey gets to wear.

Don't get me wrong, Stacey's life isn't all New York and shopping. She also has this disease called diabetes. I don't know exactly what it is, just that her body can't process sugar like everyone else's can, so she has to stick with a strict no-sweets diet and even give herself insulin injections! Ew! I couldn't imagine doing that, but Stacey says she's so used to it that it doesn't even faze her. Can you believe that her best friend is the junk food addict? I'd think Stacey would go into diabetic shock just being near Claudia!

So, that's the Baby-Sitters Club. My best friends. And, at the moment, we were all sitting in one big group on the plane. To my right was Claudia (still fast asleep) and to my left was Jessi, who was reading the newest _Saddle Club_ book. She was in the window seat, I was trapped in the middle. Across the aisle from us was Mary Anne, Logan, and Stacey, in that order. Stacey was listening to a U4Me tape on her Walkman. U4Me is this band that she loves. I think they're all right, but Stacey is always talking about them, especially their lead singer, who she says is very cute. I personally think he's too old, but what do I know? Mary Anne was staring dreamily out the window, and Logan was asleep. But guess what? He had his head on her shoulder! I couldn't believe that! I don't know if I could ever let a boy sleep on my shoulder like that where everyone could see it.

In the row behind them was Kristy, Abby, and Anna. I think they were all sleeping, too. We had to leave really early this morning and it was a long flight.

In the rows in front of us and in back of us was the rest of the group. I didn't even know how many of us there were, there were so many!

I decided to pull out my notebook and start on a few entries. I quickly wrote down the seating order for all us BSC members, then wrote down the room assignments. After writing down all us girls, I decided to add Logan, since he is a BSC member as well. He doesn't go to our regular meetings, but he helps us out whenever we get really busy.

"Mary Anne!" I whispered loudly across the aisle.

She turned around and looked at me, but didn't say anything. She probably didn't want to wake Logan.

"Do you know who Logan's rooming with? I'm trying to get all of this in my journal." I asked.

"Pete Black and Alan Gray." she whispered quietly, trying not to make much of a sound.

I crinkled my nose in disgust. Pete Black is all right, he's friends with most of the BSC members and has even gone to dances with some of them. But Alan Gray is another story. He's the most immature boy in the 8th grade. He's always joking around and making a scene. I couldn't believe Logan was going to share a room with him.

I wrote down the names, and closed my journal. I leaned back in my seat and looked out the window. Jessi looked up from her book and smiled at me. I smiled back. We didn't need to say anything, we both knew what the other was thinking.

VEGAS, HERE WE COME!


	2. Dawn

_Dear Dad, Jeff & Carol, _

_Here I am, in Las Vegas! It's so different being here on my own without you guys, but it's still just as fun! Everyone except for Stacey seems to be a little overwhelmed by the lights and action of the city, but I'm sure they'll get used to it. I've been showing them the sights. Too bad we can't gamble yet. I wonder if they'll believe my fake ID? Just kidding!_

_Hope you guys are having fun in sunny CA!_

_Love,_

_Dawn_

I looked around the plane as our pilot announced our arrival at Las Vegas McCarren International Airport. I was _so_ excited to see all my friends from the Stoneybrook, especially since most of my friends back in California were driving me crazy. Jill was acting like a total baby (She was wearing dog sweaters! I mean, we're in _eight grade_. That's a sweatshirt a sixth grader like Mallory would wear), Maggie was no fun anymore since she stopped eating and Sunny was just being a totally stale friend. I know her mom is dying of cancer, but that's no excuse to skip math class.

Anyways. I found out that my friends from SMS were all going on this trip to Vegas and after much wheedling and begging, I finally convinced my dad and Carol to let me go. I got special permission from SMS to share a hotel room with Claudia and Stacey. The BSC would be reunited once again!

After the seatbelt sign turned off, I grabbed my carry-on bag (which doubled as my suitcase. Checking bags is _such_ a pain) and hurried off the plane over to the baggage claim where we all said we'd meet.

I saw Claudia (well, Claudia's outfit – it's hard to miss bright purple) instantly and as I approached them, Mary Anne shrieked and ran over to me to give me a hug.

"Dawn I can't believe you're here! I can't believe _we're_ here! Did you see all the hotels there were on your plane ride over? Did you know that Vegas is home to nine of the ten largest hotels in the _world_? And that the city has 120,000 hotel rooms?! SMS is probably using half of them! Auugh! This is going to be _so_ much fun!"

I grinned. Same old Mary Anne.

The rest of the BSC hurried over and gave me hugs as well. "This is _so_ dibble," said Mallory. "I can't believe SMS arranged this whole trip just for us. I can't believe my parents actually let me go on the trip."

"And _I_," began Kristy, "cannot believe that we just spent seven hours on an airplane that was freezing and served a moldy tennis ball for breakfast. I can't believe they called that a pancake. What were they thinking?"

"Seven hours? You guys must have had a great pilot or something. It usually takes me longer than that to get to California." I said, and then sighed. "Planes – yech. That's one of the things I hate about being bi-costal. Thank goodness the flight from California to Vegas is only forty minutes."

"Oh, who cares about flight times? Viva Las Vegas!" cried Abby.

Before I could respond, one of the SMS teachers stood up on a chair in the baggage claim. "Okay then! Does everyone have their luggage?" After hearing a chorus of "yes's," he continued on "We've chartered a big bus for everyone to go on. A-M's are with me on bus 1, N-Z's are with Ms. Besser on bus 2. Don't forget to check in with us before you board the bus!"

Claudia and Stacey groaned. "So, I guess the two of us will see you at the hotel later," said Stacey and the two of them walked over to their group, each dragging two suitcases. (They're _such_ clothes hogs. There are way better ways to spend your money, like donating it to a wildlife charity.)

The rest of us clambered aboard the second bus and managed to get seats together. "This is _so_ cool!" said Jessi for what seemed to be the millionth time. Honestly, it's like they've never been on a trip before. It was getting embarrassing. Mary Anne linked her arm in mine and leaned in to me. "Isn't this so exciting?" she said. "It's a whole new place for all of us to explore."

"Well, I've been to Vegas before," I began saying, but after seeing the spark in her eyes begin to dim, I hurriedly finished by saying "But never with my best friends!"

After what seemed like _years_ (it was really only about ten minutes) we finally arrived at the hotel and got everyone settled in their rooms. I opened the door to the suite I'd be sharing with Stacey and Claudia and found the room to be a total disaster. "Wh… What?" I stammered out.

"Relax, Dawn, we're just unpacking. I know how much you hate mess," said Claudia, who had shared a room with Kristy and I when we all went on a cruise together in the Bahama's. Let's just say I'm extremely thankful that I'm not sharing a room with Kristy McSlob this time around.

We chatted a bit as we all unpacked and then the two of them eagerly looked at me. "Well? What now?" asked Claudia.

"I say we explore," I responded. "Vegas has such great hotels, and the outsides are nothing compared to what's inside." We called the others and all agreed to go sightseeing. Mary Anne, for one, was ridiculously excited as usual. When we met them in the lobby a few minutes later, she had her nose stuck in a guide to Las Vegas and was armed with a camera.

"Can we check out New York, New York?" asked Stacey. "I've heard it looks just like New York City. It'd be like we were there again!"

"I want to check out the ESPN Zone," said Kristy, while Abby nodded frantically. "They've got virtual reality sports games!"

"What about the Bellagio?" asked Mary Anne. "Did you guys know it takes a staff of 115 to maintain the flowers and plants in the conservatory? And the fountains, which, by the way, do a world famous 'Fountain Show' every day, has 1000 feet of water and soars up to 240 feet in the air."

We all stared at Mary Anne. She does this on every trip we've ever been on; I don't know why any of us are surprised anymore.

"Okay," I said, taking charge. I noticed Kristy look at the others as they looked at me and felt a little thrill run through me. "First things first. We'll walk over to the Monte Carlo – just a warning, everyone, it's a good walk from here to there – then hit all the hotels. Stacey, you'll get to see New York, New York, Mary Anne, you'll get to see Bellagio, and we can also check out the Paris, Excalibur and Cesar's Palace while we're there." Everyone looked impressed with my knowledge of the city.

"Wow, Dawn," said Jessi. "How many times have you been here?"

"Oh, plenty," I said importantly, while I adjusted my "I'M AWESOME!" necklace. "My dad takes Jeff and I at least once a year. Now, off we go!"

The eight of us marched off, happily laughing and joking with each other as I led the way.

"Gosh, I wish we were 21. I'd love to be able to try the slots. Can you imagine how many Nancy Drew books and art supplies I could buy if I won some money?" said Claudia.

"Nannie _adores_ the slots," said Kristy. "I'm really glad Watson could bring my family on the trip with me, especially Nannie. She's really into gambling."

I wrinkled my nose. "You guys, there are way better things you could use your money on than gambling. You're just throwing the money away by playing the slots."

"Oooh, we should all see a show while we're here!" said Mary Anne. "I wonder if Logan would want to see 'Mamma Mia!' with me."

We made it to the Monte Carlo then decided to split up. Stacey was dying to see New York, New York and Claudia, Abby and Mallory agreed to go with her. Kristy, Mary Anne, Jessi and I all went to the MGM Grand after Mary Anne _insisted_ that we see the Lion Habitat. I refused to see it. I think it's so cruel that the hotel would keep lions enclosed in this cage while people gawk at them. I stood outside of the area in my own form of protest.

"What's wrong, Dawn?" asked Mary Anne, noticing my angry eyes. She can be such an observant friend sometimes.

"What's _wrong_? You dragged me to go see this… this…" I gestured madly towards the glass cages. "This prison!"

They all stared at me.

"Prison? What are you talking about Dawn?" asked Kristy.

"Do you guys think these lions _want_ to live in these cages? No! They don't! They take these three, poor, helpless lions - "

"Actually, there are more than three lions. There are 31 lions, 20 females and 11 males. And they don't live in the habitat, they live on a ranch outside of the hotel that's 8.5 acres," interrupted Mary Anne.

"That's not the point, _Miss Know-It-All_," I snapped. Mary Anne blinked back tears. "The point is that these poor lions shouldn't even be in Las Vegas! I've always been against this habitat and you guys" (I pointed my fingers at the three of them) "dragged me here anyways, even though you knew about my love for the environment and the animals!"

"We're sorry, Dawn," said Mary Anne quietly. "We didn't realize how - "

"How _crazy_ you were. Lighten up, Dawn. They're not being abused, they're well taken care of," said Kristy. I opened my mouth to protest. "No, Dawn, we don't need another long speech. Lets just go to another hotel, okay?"

"Can we check out the Bellagio?" asked Jessi timidly.

"Fine," I snapped. "Let's get out of here."

We walked over to the hotel in relative silence. I broke the silence. "I'm sorry for snapping, you guys. This just makes me so angry!"

"Well, instead of yelling at us, who have nothing to do with it, why don't you write a letter or something to MGM?" asked Kristy, bossily as usual.

"A letter won't work…" I thought out loud. "But something else will have to… I'm not sure what."

As we looked around the hotel, I got a brilliant idea – something that's usually reserved for Kristy. I could stage a protest in front of the habitat every day until they MGM would listen to me. I could even make signs and flyers. This was perfect!

"Hey, look you guys!" cried Jessi, snapping me out of my planning. "The Cirque de Soleil show is having amateur tryouts! I _knew_ bringing my ballet shoes would be a good idea!"

Us older girls looked at each other and smiled. "Good luck with _that_," I thought to myself.

Mary Anne was more encouraging. "It never hurts to try!" she said. "And if you make it, it'd be so amazing! We'd come cheer you on and it'd be so fantastic!"

I personally thought Jessi was nuts for even thinking about trying out. But it didn't matter. The BSC was together again, we were on a fantastic trip with our school (well, _their_ school now) and best of all, I'd thought of a way to help out the poor, entrapped lions. This was going to be the best vacation ever.


	3. Claudia

_Dear Mom Ded and Janine,_

_Greatings from Las Vegas! The airport was the most crauded place I have ever bean. Even it had slot machines to pley while you weight for your luggage. I am going to see the stayned glass ceiling at the Bellagio Hotell and will take lots of pixtures to show you. _

_Love, Claudia_

Oh My LORD. I could hardly believe that I, Claudia Kishi, was in Las Vegas. Or at least in the lobby of the New York, New York casino. Mallory and Abby were reading brochures and Stacey was casually checking out the cute guys swarming around.

After a quick stop change clothes we had decided to check out the sites of Vegas! I quickly checked myself out in the mirrored wall of the lobby and if I do say so myself I was looking very chilly. (In case you're wondering my friends and I made up that when we want to say something is super cool). As I gazed at myself I wondered if we should start calling things "Claudia". In case you wondering I had decided the theme for the day would be "luck". I had on a floor length green satin skirt with appliqués of leprechauns on it with a silver mock turtleneck. Over that I had on a short fringed green leather vest to which I had attached a large plastic four leaf clover as a corsage. My earrings were (of course!) miniature playing cards and I decided to wear a pair of purple high tops just to stand out. I could easily pass for 17 or 18 years old. In fact I noticed several older ladies admiring my outfit and pointing it out to their friends.

All around us bells were ringing and there was a steady clatter of coins clanking on the slot machines. They had all sorts of different themes, I saw one with a polar bear, one with hamburgers (uh-oh better not let Dawn see that one), and even an I Dream of Jeannie machine. It looked like it would be so easy just to walk over and drop in a quarter. And I just know that I could win, after all I had my lucky sunglasses perched on top of my head. They are black horned rimmed glasses with silver frames but I customized them by gluing poker chips to the frames. Of course they aren't ordinary chips; I painted them with glitter paint to really make them stand out.

"Psst, Stacey" I whispered.

"Hmm" she replied, never taking her eyes off a cute blonde haired guy who was watching an older couple play poker. He turned and gave her a small wave.

"Did you see that?!! I think I am in LUV. He is gorgeous" she said dreamily.

"Come on lets just try to play a few games" I said excitedly.

Stacey tore her eyes away from the guy and looked at me in confusion. "But you aren't old enough Claudia" she pointed out.

"So? I'll do it really quickly." I promised.

Stacey shrugged. "Well if you want to just do it, those machines are pretty close to the aisle so we better make it fast"

I glanced back at Mallory and Abby, who were having a heated discussion over a wax museum and were paying no attention to me. I smoothed my hair back and slowly walked over to the nearest bank of slot machines.

Oh My LORD! It was a sign, it was fate. It was called Mystery Money. My friends and I have solved LOTS of mysteries in Stoneybrook and I love Nancy Drews.

I began to think of how many of them I could buy if I won the jackpot. Not to mention the amount of Twix and I could buy that camouflage feather boa that I had seen in the gift shop at the airport.

"Do you think that is a good machine?" I asked Stacey.

Stacey was too busy scanning the room looking for her blonde haired guy to answer me. She pushed her hair behind her ears and leaned casually against a row of machines, trying to look suave. Her eyes kept scanning the aisles for him.

I looked back to the lobby and saw Abby looking impatient. I quickly reached into my purse and pulled out two quarters.

"Claudia! Stacey" cried Mallory.

I jumped and turned around to find Mallory standing behind us with her hands on her hips. The pose only emphasized the overall dorkiness of the horse t-shirt she had not only tucked in but _belted_.

"You are not old enough to be here, you could get in lots of trouble." she said. She kept glancing around as if she expected security to arrest us on the spot.

"Well…neither are YOU" I retorted with a glare.

Mallory grabbed my arm and began to pull me back towards the lobby and Stacey followed with her head down.

"Do you think he saw that? I am so embarrassed I could KILL Mallory!" Stacey whispered angrily.

Abby was waiting for us in the lobby looking at her watch. "What on earth is going on? Where did you guys go???"

"Why don't you ask Mallory" I suggested. Mallory glared at me and scribbled something in a notebook and slammed it shut. Poor Abby just looked confused.

"Do you guys want to go check out the rest of the hotel?" asked Abby.

"Sure, Whatever" Stacey muttered. Wow she must be embarrassed if she wasn't even pointing out all the differences in the real New York and the casino.

As we entered the elevator to visit the other floors, I spotted a sign that said "All Gamblers must be 21 with valid proof of ID". That was it! All I needed to do was get an ID card and no one would doubt my age. But how could I get one? I hadn't thought to bring my art supplies with me… Hmm but I did have a great outfit picked out for my ID picture. After all red gingham fedoras are totally mature.


	4. Mallory

_Dear Mom, Dad, Jordan, Byron, Adam, Vanessa, Nicky, Margo, and Claire,_

_I took up half the postcard just writing your names! This is our hotel in the _

_picture, the Hard Rock Hotel. It's just like the restaurant in NYC! Pretty cool,_

_huh? I miss you guys!_

_Love,_

_Mallory_

I tried to sound like I was having more fun than I really was. I couldn't believe what Stacey and Claudia did at that casino! They could have been arrested! I'm sure no parent would ever call the Baby-Sitters Club again if two of its members had gone to jail! What were they thinking?

After that incident at the casino, we headed back to our hotel. It was getting late and we were all pretty exhausted from our flight. Claudia and Stacey walked around the shops for awhile while Abby and Jessi and I got a quick dinner at the coffee shop in the lobby. We checked out the gift shop for a little bit after that (I bought a really _fresh_ t-shirt), then dragged ourselves upstairs and promptly collapsed into bed.

When we woke up that morning, Jessi, Mary Anne, and I got ready quickly and headed downstairs to the restaurant where we were meeting everyone for breakfast. And, let me tell you, I have never seen such a big buffet! They had every kind of breakfast food imaginable, plus some I could have never even thought of! We sat at this huge table with all the other BSC members, plus Kristy's family. I felt a little self-conscious with Sam and Charlie there, as I always do. Sure, I was dressed and I had fixed my hair, but it was still early in the morning and I felt half-asleep, so it felt weird having boys there. Plus, I had to try not to look like too much of a pig at the buffet.

Guess what Stacey and Claudia did? They sat at the other end of the table from me! Real mature, huh? I'm sure they talked about me, too, I heard Stacey whispering something about a horse t-shirt to Claudia. Well, luckily, they couldn't say much about me today. I had made sure to dress extra-cool for my first day in Las Vegas. I was wearing my new blue jeans, and I put on the t-shirt I had bought the night before at the gift shop. It was black and it had LAS VEGAS written across the front of it in multicolored glitter letters. Let's see them make fun of my outfit today.

"What do you think you're going to do today?" Jessi asked me as she sat down across from me with a plate of scrambled eggs and some cantelope slices.

"I think I'm just going to explore the hotel some," I answered, "and work on my journal. I was so tired last night that I didn't get to write anything." What I didn't say was that I wasn't going to be working on my school journal.

See, I brought two notebooks with me. One was the journal that we all had to keep for school. That one was pretty boring, I was just writing down everything we did, just like everybody else was doing. The other notebook was for my own private journal. I do this on almost every vacation I go on. Have you ever read _Harriet the Spy_? If you haven't, you should. It's very good. It's about this girl who spies on everybody and writes down things about them in her spy notebook. I try to do this on all of my trips and I haven't gotten great at it yet. Most of the things I find out turn out to be false later, and I always seem to almost get caught. But I vowed to myself I was going to do a better job this time. And this was the perfect place to do it. All kinds of people come to Las Vegas, so I was sure to see lots of cool stuff happening.

"I'm going to go explore the strip with Dawn, Mary Anne, and Abby before I have to get to those auditions for Cirque du Soleil. Do you want to come?" Jessi asked me. I shook my head. There would be time for that later. I had important work to do today.

After breakfast, everybody split off. Kristy went somewhere with her family, Jessi left with the other three, and Stacey and Claudia said they were going to go back to New York, New York to find that boy. How dumb is that? There are hundreds of thousands of people in this city, and they think they're going to find one boy?

Once I was sure everyone was gone, I reached into my pocket to get my key, but it wasn't there. I was sure I had grabbed it this morning when we left. Hadn't I? I checked my other pocket, and double-checked around our table to make sure it hadn't fallen out. It hadn't. What was I going to do without my key? I had to get into my room, my notebook was still up there!

I walked up to the front desk to see if they could get me a new key, and I was in luck! The woman who checked us in yesterday was there again! She was in the middle of checking a family in, so I waited behind them. Once she handed them their keys and directed them to their room, I walked up to her station.

She looked just like she had yesterday (well, of course she did, she was wearing the same uniform). She seemed to be about 25 years old, and had red hair, the same color as mine. But hers looked so much better because it was straight and just past her shoulders. She wore it back in a ponytail, but instead of using a plain old rubberband, she held it back with a fat black barrette, which looked so classy with the gray business suit she was wearing. On the lapel of her blazer was a gold-plated nametag that read JAYNE. Isn't that a cool name? I love how she spells it with a Y, that's so unique. When she checked us in yesterday, I had vowed to myself that I would try to look even half as cool as Jayne did when I got to be her age.

"Hi! Remember me?" I asked, smiling. I was sure she did, she had been really nice yesterday. She asked us all about where we were from, and she even gave me, Jessi, and Mary Anne free Hard Rock Hotel ink pens.

"Of course I do," she replied. But she didn't really seem that sincere about it. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"I think I lost my room key. Can I get a new one?"

"What's your room number?" she asked curtly as she began typing on her computer.

"4175, I think." I answered. I really wasn't sure if that was right.

"Name?"

"Mallory Pike."

"What's your address?" she asked after she had pulled up something on the computer. My address? Why was she asking that. I must have looked confused, because she added, "It's just to verify your identity. It's for your safety."

"134 Slate Street, Stoneybrook, Connec-"

"Ok, let me just get your key cut." she said, cutting me off. She turned around and waited for my key to shoot out of the machine. I didn't know what was up with her. She wasn't acting as nice and friendly as she had been yesterday. And why did she need my address? I know she remembered me, there was no need to verify my identity.

She handed me my key (which was actually a card, almost like a credit card) and told me to have a great day. I smiled, thanked her, and went back up to my room.

After I retreived the notebook from the bottom of the drawer I had taken in the dresser, I went back down to the lobby. It was pretty busy at this time of morning, with a lot of hotel guests leaving, so I figured I'd see some good stuff if I hung around back near the desk.

I saw an empty bench that was right near the desk. Perfect! I might even be able to hear some of the things going on at the front desk if I sat there. It turned out that my bench was right near Jayne's station.

I opened the notebook and began writing furiously, describing my surroundings. Jayne was checking out this man who looked about my father's age who was wearing a business suit and carrying a briefcase. Nothing too exciting.

_The man is disputing a charge on his itemized bill. He says that he only had_

_one soda from the minibar. Jayne is checking all of this out on the computer_

_and agrees with him. She is refunding the charge for the second soda._

Yawn. I thought Las Vegas was supposed to be full of exciting people and events! Something had to happen! If this was the way my spying was going to go, I might as well give up.

_The businessman is thanking Jayne and handing back his key. He thanks_

_her and says that he had a great time and can't wait to come back. She_

_smiles and wishes him a safe trip back to Dallas. As soon as he walks away,_

_the phone at Jayne's station rings. As she picks it up, she begins looking_

_around the lobby very mysteriously._

I scooted closer on my bench. It sounded like something might actually be going on.

_Jayne begins talking to whoever is on the phone, but she is talking too_

_quietly for me to hear anything._

I leaned in, hoping that I could hear anything, even just one little word.

_As she is talking, she continues to look around the lobby. She is _

_starting to look worried as she listens to the person on the other_

_line. She types something on her computer, and begins to read_

_what is on her screen. She gasps in surprise. She quickly hangs_

_up the phone._

I was writing so fast that my hand was beginning to cramp. I stopped for a minute to shake it out. As I was doing so, I kept watching Jayne. After she hung up the phone, she typed a few more things onto her computer, then shut it off. She quickly walked back behind the other people at the desk and into a back room.

I wrote all of this down, then slammed my notebook shut. I jumped up from the bench and practically ran all the way to the elevators, then back up to my room. By the time I got there, I was panting.

What could possibly be happening with Jayne? She was so nice and friendly yesterday, and was anything but that today! And she was on the phone for a long time, too! I knew phone calls to the front desk couldn't possibly take that long. We had to call down there last night to get some extra pillows for the fold-out sofa Jessi was sleeping on, and that call took less than a minute. I've stayed in enough hotels to know that calls to the desk usually last about that long. And what could have happened to make her gasp like that, then run off so quickly?

I couldn't wait til Jessi got back so I could tell her everything. But then I thought again. Could I tell her? What if something dangerous was going on that I shouldn't even know about? Plus, Jayne had my _address_. I couldn't let anyone else know about this, I didn't want any trouble to happen to any of my friends.

But I was also so excited. Finally, all of my note-taking on vacations was paying off. I had a mystery to solve!


	5. Kristy

Hey Bart-Man,

Greetings from Las Vegas! I bet you never imagined me here. It's about as far from a baseball field as you can get. But I'm having a blast anyway, especially since my family is here. Who knew Nannie was such a gambler?

Don't get too out of shape while I'm away---even if I'll be out of practice, I'll still be able to whup you in a baseball match.

See you later!

Kristy

There is something embarrassingly huge about my family. We're worse than the Pikes sometimes, I swear. And if I thought we were bad at home, I should have never traveled to Las Vegas with them.

On our second day in Las Vegas, my family and some of my friends and I had breakfast together, but after that is when the trouble started. It began when Watson, my stepfather (I love him but he's going bald! There's really no other way to say it) turned to my mother and said, much to my dismay, "How about we take a gondola ride at the Monte Carlo?"

My mother smiled back at him and replied, just as sickeningly, "Sounds dreamy."

Sam snorted and practically spit milk out of his nose. He nudged Charlie, who mouthed, "Dreamy," back at Sam while rolling his eyes.

And people say _I'm_ immature.

Still, I could understand Sam and Charlie. I knew about the gondolas at the Monte Carlo. Thanks to Mary Anne the guidebook, we all had plenty of information about Las Vegas. People were always making out on those little boats. In public. The idea of my mother and her balding husband making out---making anything---was completely embarrassing. And kind of gross.

Mom turned to me. "Kristy? Would you mind watching the younger kids? Maybe Abby or Mary Anne can go with you? It'd only be for about an hour or so."

Sam smirked at me, but what could I say? I am, after all, president of the Baby-sitters Club. I didn't want to turn down my own mother, even if I was on vacation. Suppose we got back to Stoneybrook and Mom started gossiping to clients that I had refused to watch my own brothers and sisters? The BSC would probably go out of business. "Sure, Mom," I agreed.

"Oh, goody," Karen, who is seven, said excitedly. She clapped her hands. "We'll have a gigundoly fabulous time!"

"Let me ask Abby if she wants to come," I said. I got up and headed to where Abby and Anna were sitting. "I'm baby-sitting for awhile," I said immediately, not even sitting down. "Do you want to help me?"

Anna shook her head, but Abby said, "Sure."

A few minutes later, Abby and I found ourselves with Karen, and seven year old David Michael. Andrew (five) and Emily Michelle (two) went exploring with Nannie. As soon as we had split up, I looked at the kids and clapped my hands. "So! What should we do first?"

"Gamble," Karen said.

"Eat," David Michael said.

"Try to spot Elvis," Abby said.

I just gaped at them. Finally, I managed to find my voice. "Karen, you are too young to gamble. David Michael, we just had a huge breakfast. And Abby, if you think we're going to spot Elvis here, you're insane. Come on." I checked my watch. "Let's just explore."

As we set off, Abby caught up to my side. "It could happen," she insisted. "Maybe not the real Elvis of course, but an impersonator, maybe. Or hey, maybe even the real Elvis! I know people think he's dead, but I think he faked it. You know, because he had so much publicity and fame. It's not unheard of."

"You're crazy," I countered. "Elvis is dead, we've been through this before, and you're freaking out the kids."

Abby glanced at David Michael and Karen, who were both staring at her as if she were crazy. Then she let out a long, suffering sigh. "Okay, okay," she agreed.

For awhile, we walked around and gaped at all of the sights. We saw casino after casino, some shaped like pyramids and castles, some just plain buildings. Slot machines lined the walkways and in front of one casino, there was even a brand new car that you could win. Abby wanted to try it, but I shooed her away. After awhile of exploring, we wound up at the New York, New York casino and ran into Claudia and Stacey. Claudia was dressed in another one of her creative outfits. Today, it was a pair of purple leather pants held up at the waist with a thick, bright pink shoestring. The bottoms of her pants were tucked into a pair of bright pink ankle boots that had purple shoestrings in them. She had on a large, oversized button up shirt, pink with purple polka dots all over it. Around her neck she was even wearing a little bow tie, pink of course. And best of all, she was carrying a little _cigar box _as a purse. The cigar box was painted purple and had a lot of stamps and writing all over it from different places around the world. I knew Claudia had probably made it herself. She'd attached a little handle to the box that was made out of pink beaded ribbon. For the final touch, she'd pulled her hair up into a side ponytail with _two _scrunchies--pink and purple.

"Hey," I greeted them. "Great outfit, Claud."

Claudia grinned. "Thanks."

"What are you two doing?" Stacey asked, raising her sunglasses so that she could peer at them. She was dressed in chic jeans and a black tank top that said, "I LOVE NYC" in bright green letters. She smiled at Karen and David Michael.

"Baby-sitting," Abby answered.

"Mom and Watson are taking a ride on a gondola," I added in explanation, rolling my eyes. But Stacey's face suddenly took on a dreamy look. "Oh, a gondola ride," she said. "That sounds so romantic. I wish I could find someone to ride a gondola with."

Abby and I glanced at each other, trying to keep from laughing. But Claudia looked equally as dreamy.

Karen tugged on my arm. "I want a gondola ride, too."

"Not today, Karen," I answered her. I smiled at Claudia and Stacey and then said, "We better get going. Want to meet later for lunch?"

"Sure," they agreed. And so we separated again. We hadn't gone more than ten feet before Abby suddenly exclaimed, "Kristy, look!"

I looked. Abby was pointing to a guy standing a few yards away from us. He was youngish, maybe fifteen or sixteen. He had dark hair and a tanned face, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. But his hair was swept up away from his face, probably with two tons of styling grease. His glasses were large and pitch black, and he was dressed in a white suit with bell-bottoms and gems all over it.

An Elvis impersonator.

Before I could even say no, Abby had marched right up to the boy. I watched, gaping, as she began to talk to him. David Michael and Karen were also in awe, but for different reasons.

"He's not really dead!" exclaimed David Michael.

"Is Abby talking to a ghost?" Karen demanded.

I couldn't answer. The guy and Abby were smiling at one another now. A few seconds later, the guy turned and strolled into the casino and Abby floated back towards us.

"Abby!" I exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?"

Abby just gazed at me. "He's even more gorgeous up close," she said. "My very own Elvis!" She grabbed my arm. "Kristy, I think I'm in love!"

I just groaned. Was everyone going crazy?

Karen yelped, "Abby, you can't be in love with a ghost!"

And then, to make matters worse, just then none other than Nannie walked out of the casino. "Nannie!" I called, relieved at first. She was toting Emily Michelle and Andrew. I had hoped to turn Karen and David Michael over to her as well, just so that I could have some time to talk some sense into Abby.

But Nannie's eyes were glazed over, just like Abby's. "Hi, Kristy," she said distractedly. "Guess what? I just won three hundred dollars in the slot machine. Be a dear and take your sister and brother, will you? I want to play a few more games."

Before I could even open my mouth to protest, Nannie had disappeared back inside the casino. I slowly looked around me. Abby was still staring dreamily after the Elvis-clone. And four children looked back up at me expectantly, waiting for me to make my next move.

I took a deep breath and regained my composure. I would just have to deal with this. After all, I am not the president of the Baby-sitters Club for nothing.


	6. Jessi

_Dear Mom, Dad, Squirt, and Becca_

_I'm having a great time in Las Vegas! Everything is so exciting here, it's fun to just walk around and sight-see. I may have some good news for you, I will tell you more about it in my next letter._

_Love,_

_Jessi_

I felt a little guilty not telling my parents about the audition but I knew that it was something that they wouldn't approve of me doing. They treat me like such a baby sometimes, I wish they could see how mature I am for an eleven year old. I figure there is no harm in auditioning for Cirque Du Soliel. If I get in, then I can worry about what to tell my parents.

Stil even though I hadn't gone to the audition yet, I couldn't stop daydreaming about what it would be like to dance with Cirque. Sure I've been the star of a several ballets that my dance class had performed, so I know what it's like have to be in the spotlight and have hundreds of people watching you dance. But this would be different. I'd get to travel all over the world and be a star. It would be so dibble.

"Jessi, are you paying attention?" Mary-Anne asked. "We're right in front of the MGM Grand, which is the largest hotel the nation."

Out of the corner of my I could have sworn I saw Dawn roll her eyes. "Home to those poor imprisoned lions" she murmured.

"It has over 5000 rooms." Mary-Anne said. "It would take a person 13 years and eight months to sleep in every one of them."

I checked my watch, it was after one thirty and the auditions started at two. I reached into my pocket to get the slip of paper I had written all the audition information on. "Hey Dawn do you know where this address is? I need to get the auditions by two."

Dawn consulted the piece of paper "I think its about fifteen minutes from here. It should be a short walk."

Mary-Anne walked over to where I was standing. "Are you nervous?" She asked me

I shook my head. "Excited. Mme Noelle just picks the roles for each show for us based on how we're doing in class. I've always wanted to see what a professional dancing audition is like"

We walked down the strip. I always think of Las Vegas at night when everything is all lit up. It still looks pretty crazy during the day. We arrived at the street that matched the address on the slip of paper. I could see a building down the alley that must be where the auditions were being held.

"Are you're that's the place" Mary-Anne asked

I checked my slip of paper "pretty sure" I replied. I'd written down all the information from the flyer I had seen. Had I made a mistake and written it down wrong?

"Well do you want us to come in with you, we could cheer you on!" Mary Anne said

I shook my head. "I don't think they allow spectators to come in and watch auditions.

"Do you want us to wait outside?" Dawn asked, looking over the nightclub with a frown.

"That's alright. It's going to take a long time and the hotel is nearby. Why don't you guys go ahead when I'm done I'll meet you back at the hotel."

"Alright…good l- I mean break a leg" Dawn said, grinning "Funny superstition you got there."

I laughed. "See you guys later. I walked down the narrow alley, feeling a little bit nervous. The auditions were being held in this run-down nightclub. Surely this was the right place. I knocked on the door. A really big huge guy opened the door but said nothing.

"I'm here for the audition. The-the dance audition" I stammered. He nodded and let me in.

Inside there was an area that looked like a bar. Cool! I'd never been in a bar before! There were several girls of all ages waiting to be called in. Most of them were stretching or talking in small groups. They gave me some odd looks when I walked in. Probably because I'm black. There aren't a lot of black ballet dancers out there. Or maybe because I was young. I was probably the youngest person in room. But that's all right. I'm the youngest person in Mme Noelle's class and I still get all the lead parts.

I laced up my toe shoes and started to stretch out. As I did I noticed something odd. Most of the girls were wearing really revealing clothes, short shorts and tight tops. I figured they must be modern dancers, or maybe hip-hop ones. In those classes you can wear whatever kinds of clothes you want but in Mme Noelle's class you have to wear pink tights and a black leotard, no excuses. In fact that was what I was wearing today under my stretchy pants and sweatshirt.

One of the younger looking girls walked over to me and gave me a curious look. "So have you signed up yet? Sign up sheet is over there."

"I'll do that right now" I said and I put my name down on the list. I started to write Jessi, then added the ca so it would be my full name, Jessica. Jessica sounds more mature.

"Have you got a stage name?" the girl asked.

"I-I figured I'd use my own." I said, a little confused. Did Cirque performers have stage names? I had only seen performances on TV so I couldn't be sure. "My real name. I mean. Do I need one?"

"You might. It doesn't hurt to have one." We sat there in silence, for a little while. Several of the other girls got called in to audition.

"I got it! You can be Jessica, the Foxy Caramel Beauty"

"Huh"

"Your stage name, silly. Unless you want something more… exotic. Like Mobobwee." She said, and then thought for a second. "well they'd probably call you Moboobwee."

"I'm going go practice my splits now" I said. That girl was a weird. I got down into a perfect straddle split when the door opened and a man carrying the sign-up clip board called my name."

"Jessica Ramsey?"

"That's me!" I said and I got up and followed him into the other room. The next room had a long, narrow stage with metal pole on the end of it and tables and chars all over the room. There was another man smoking a cigar sitting at table and chair close to the end of the stage.

"So Jessica, I'd like to see you improvise a few moves. Just get up on the stage, we'll provide the music. Pretend this is for real, alright? I want to see how you'd do if you were performing."

I climbed up on stage and started thinking of what moves I could do on such a narrow long stage. I started with a few leaps, _tour jetes_ and then I moved in to a fourette turns. I noticed that their music choice was very unusual. I was used to dancing to light, classical music but this was electronic and had a really heavy pulsating beat. I kept dancing, hoping they'd like what they saw. But instead they cut the music.

The two men turned to each other and started talking about me like I wasn't there.

"She's pretty. And she's very flexible too, I saw her doing full splits" the first guy said

"Takes too long to train someone new." The man smoking the cigar said. "Beside Phil, what's the use, her assets have grown in yet."

My assets? What?

The man smoking the cigar turned over to me "Sweetheart how old are you, anyway."

I stood up tall and tried to sound mature. "I'm 16" I said.

He shook his head. "Too young. We'd have the cops all over us.

"I thought this was supposed to be an amateur audtions."

He shook his head. "Lady all the women in our show are professionals. Come back when you're older. NEXT!"

I walked out there door and sat down to take off my toe shoes. The girl from before the audition came over to talk to me. "How did it go?" She asked.

"They said I was too young."

She nodded. "I thought that might happen. You are kind of young."

I sighed. "I just realy wanted to try dancing for Cirque du Soliel. That would be so dibble."

"Dibble…whaa??? What are you talking about? This isn't Cirque Du Soliel."

"It's not?" I asked.

"No, no they're going to tear this place down and build "Le Tigre" the new hottest strip club in town and I am going to be one of their dancers." She said with a smile. "Good luck with that cirque whatever shi…stuff."

I said goodbye and slowly walked back to the hotel. How could I have been so wrong?


	7. Stacey

_Dear Dad,_

_How do you like this post card? It looks just like the real New York skyline doesn't it? It is actually a picture from the New York, New York casino. I felt right at home there! Claud and I spent most of the morning there. (But don't worry, I am not gambling). I thought it would pale in comparison to the real Big Apple, but it is actually pretty cool. _

_Luv,_

_Stacey_

Of course, I couldn't mention to my dad the real reason Claudia and I spent the morning at New York, New York. Claudia and I had walked all over the casino that morning trying to spot the gorgeous guy I had seen the day before but had no luck. I don't think Claud minded though. She loved being in the casino. She kept talking about finding a way to gamble.

This afternoon we were going to take a break from sightseeing and were just going to hang out at the pool with Claudia, Mary Anne, and Dawn. We had invited the rest of the BSC but Kristy was off with her family, Abby had been saying strange things about Elvis and then disappeared, and I had no idea where Jessi or Mal were. But they had been acting so weird and immature lately that I didn't really mind.

"I can't wait to check out the pool area!" Mary Anne exclaimed as we walked outside. "It is supposed to be gorgeous! Did you know The Hard Rock's pool has swim up black jack tables and an underwater sound system where they pipe music underwater? And it…."

"Mary Anne! Enough." Dawn said rolling her eyes.

"Okay, okay. " Mary Anne said a little quietly, probably a little hurt that Dawn was the one that told her to be quiet. I think she expects Dawn to be nicer to her since they are sisters. "I just hope I don't get sunburned."

I had to laugh. Mary Anne ALWAYS gets sunburned on vacations. She was carrying a huge bag down to the pool with her and I knew it was probably filled with six bottles of sun lotion and 3 hats or something.

As soon as we got out by the pool, I stripped down to my bikini. And if I do say so myself, I looked pretty good. My father had given me his credit card to buy a new one before my trip (although he probably wouldn't have if he saw how skimpy the one I picked out was). Sometimes I think the only reason my dad buys me so many things is because he feels guilty about him and my mom getting divorced.

Claudia was also wearing bikini I am pretty sure she made herself out of two different bathing suites. The bottom half was white covered with little red hearts and the top half was black with numbers all over it. As a cover up, she had on this long white jacket that she had painted pictures of kings and queens on. Then on her feet she had one red flip-flop and one black one. So the overall look was that she was a deck of cards. And it looked fabulous on her. It is amazing how Claudia can pull off any look.

Logan was also at the pool with Pete Black, Alan Gray, and some other guys from SMS, so Mary Anne ran over to talk to him. She got him to come back and sit by our chairs, even though it sounded like the guys were giving Logan a hard time. Honestly, sometimes the boys at our school can be SO immature.

As we lay down on these really fresh beach chairs I started combing some sunlight though my hair before I started to work on my tan. The great thing about going to Vegas in March was that out there we could lay out by the pool like it was summer. But if we had stayed back in Connecticut we would still be wearing warm coats. I said this to Dawn, and she just told me it was warm and sunny all the time in California.

After a while, we went over to this restaurant in the pool area and the other girls and Logan got these fancy tropical drinks. Even Dawn got one, she said since they were made with mostly fruit they were healthy enough. They looked delicious but since they had sugar in them, I had to turn them down. The worst part about having diabetes is not being able to have treats when the rest of your friends are. I got a diet soda instead.

Suddenly I noticed the bus boy at the other side of the restaurant.

"Oh, my LORD! That is him!" I hissed.

"Stacey, I was talking." Dawn glared at me. She had been blabbing something about how beaches in California were better than artificial pools.

I mumbled an apology and went back to staring at the gorgeous blonde.

When the others were done with their drinks, I whispered to Claudia that I was going to go talk to him and then slipped off while she and the others walked back to our towels.

It is a good thing I am not shy. I walked right up to the blonde. His nametag said his name was Stewart (Stewart? Oh, well…names are not everything. Afterall, my real name is Anastasia. Can you believe it? I don't know what my parents were thinking).

"Excuse me?" I smiled at him. "But I was wondering if you could help me with something?"

"Sure." He grinned back at me. He had a gorgeous smile.

"Well, my friend has been telling me that you have 4 Jacuzzis here. But I haven't counted that many. So, is her guidebook wrong?"

The gorgeous blonde laughed. He had such a great laugh. "That probably counts the ones in our health club." He paused for a minute. "Hey, have I seen you somewhere before?"

I didn't want to admit that I remembered him from yesterday. That might make me seem a little crazy or something. After all, I hadn't talked to him then.

"Maybe….my friends and I have been all over the place since we got here." There, that was honest. I figured that way, if we got married someday I would not have to feel bad about lying to him when we met.

"That must be it. Anyway, my name is Taylor." He smiled that gorgeous smile at me.

"Taylor? But your name tag says…"

"Stewart, I know. That is my real name. Stewart Taylor. But no one calls me Stewart if they want to live. So I go by Taylor. But they are making me use me real name on this thing while I am filling in here" he said gesturing to the nametag.

"You're only filling in?" I asked him. I started to wonder how old Taylor was. If he was working at this hotel, I hope it didn't mean he was out of school. I have dated older guys before, but I wouldn't want him to be TOO much older.

"Just on my spring break. My father works in security in the casino, so he got me a job on my vacation. My older sister works at the hotel too."

So he must not be that much older than me, I thought, relieved. If it was his school vacation he couldn't be more than a couple years older than me.

"So, what's your name?" He asked me, and I realized I was still staring at him.

"Oh! I am Stacey, Stacey McGill. I am here on vacation for the next couple weeks. It must be amazing to actually live here."

That was when someone from behind the bar started calling to Taylor. He asked if I could wait, since he only had a few minutes on his shift. (Was he kidding? Of course I could wait).

After he did a few things he came back and we sat at the edge of the pool and kept talking. Taylor told me a bunch of stories he had heard from his father about working in casino security. Apparently they can come down really hard on people who try to cheat the casino. (I wondered if I should tell Claudia. She was so excited about finding a way to gamble, I didn't want to make her nervous). Then I started telling Taylor about growing up in New York.

I didn't want to leave, but I noticed it was starting to get dark and I saw across the pool that the rest of the BSC was packing up to leave. "It looks like my friends are leaving," I told Taylor. "I should probably go with them, they will expect me to have dinner with them."

Taylor and I said goodbye, but he made a point of asking what room I was in before I left so he could track me down. He said he wanted to hang out again while I was here. I couldn't wait. I was definitely in LUV!


	8. Mary Anne

_Dear Dad and Sharon,_

_Las Vegas is so great! It's not as good as NYC,_

_but it's close! Our hotel is great, too, it's got the_

_world's largest Hard Rock store! I already bought_

_a t-shirt. The pool has a dance floor and you can_

_hear rock music underwater! _

_I'll write more later, I promise! I'm meeting Logan_

_and we're going to the Stratosphere, which is the_

_country's tallest observation tower, and there's rides_

_at the top! I may just watch Logan on those._

_Love,_

_Mary Anne_

I wasn't exaggerating in my letter. I really do love Las Vegas (almost as much as NYC). And I couldn't wait for what Logan and I had planned for today. There's this great hotel on The Strip (The Strip is like Main Street in Vegas, it's where everything is) called the Stratosphere. At the hotel is, like I said in my letter, the country's tallest observation tower. It is (are you ready?) 1,149 feet high. Normally I'd be freaked out to go up there, but I feel better when Logan's around.

I grabbed my purse and said bye to Mallory. Jessi had already left for the day, though I'm not sure where, and Mallory was sitting on the bed writing in her journal. She'd been writing in that thing a lot. All the rest of us were just making an entry each night describing what we'd done that day. I didn't know how Mallory even had so much to write about, when all she was doing was writing!

I took the elevator down to the third floor, walked to Logan's room, and knocked on the door.

"Hey, Mary Anne!" Pete said as he opened the door. "Great idea on where to go, this place sounds awesome. How'd you find out about it?" he asked.

"You're going?" I asked him, confused. I had planned this as a Me-And-Logan-Together day.

"Yeah, Logan invited me and Alan. Is that ok?" Pete asked.

"Oh, sure, no problem! The more, the merrier!" I replied, breezily. I wanted it to seem like I was totally cool with them coming, I didn't want to start any problems.

"Come on, Bruno, let's go!" Alan yelled as he ran out of the room past me and Pete, who were still in the doorway. Logan walked out from the balcony and gave me a big smile.

"Ready to tackle Big Shot?" he asked as he put his arm around me.

I gulped. Big Shot, according to my guidebook, was located at the very top of the tower. If you just want to go to the observation deck, that's only 869 feet up. Above that is a ride, Big Shot. In the ride, you sit in a harness seat and you're blasted up 160 feet in just 2 and a half seconds. I still wasn't sure if I had the nerve to try it.

"Can't wait!" I said, smiling. Pete and Alan had already run ahead of us and were waiting at the elevator.

The whole walk to the Stratosphere was spent with me silently reading my guidebook while Logan joked around with Alan and Pete. This wasn't exactly how I had imagined the Me-And-Logan-Day to go.

About halfway there, the guys started complaining that they were hungry. Never mind the fact that we'd all eaten breakfast just two hours before, they were ready for lunch.

We found a snack bar at one of the hotels, and while they all ordered double-cheeseburgers, fries, large sodas, and milkshakes, I sat quietly with a small order of fries and laughed every now and then at their jokes. Pete (yes, Pete, not Logan) happened to notice this.

"So, Mary Anne, what else is at the Stratosphere?" he asked.

I smiled. It was really thoughtful of him to include me in the conversation. "Aside from Big Shot, there are two roller coasters, both also up at the top. We can buy an all-day pass to ride all three of the rides. There's one called High Roller, which goes around the tower and is 909 feet high, and then the other one, which looks way worse, is called X-Scream, and you actually go out 27 feet over the edge of the tower on that one."

"We probably shouldn't have eaten all this." Alan said, laughing. Then he finished off his double cheeseburger and ate some of my fries.

"The Las Vegas Tourism Board really should hire Mary Anne, shouldn't they?" Logan asked the guys, laughing as he put his arm around me. I just smiled, and took a sip of my soda.

Let me tell you, 869 feet is even higher than you would think! We were standing on the outside observation deck. There was an indoor one about ten feet lower, but the guidebook said that nothing beats the view from the outdoor deck. And they were right.

I pulled my camera out of my purse and snapped a few pictures of the view laid out before me. From where we were, I could see everything. I saw the big black pyramid that was the Luxor resort, the enormous fountain in front of the Bellagio, and the tall elegant tower of the Venetian.

Logan got back over to me after walking around to check out the whole deck. He put his arm around me, and sighed as he took in the view for himself. Forgetting that anyone else was even there, I put my head on his shoulder.

"This is perfect..." I whispered.

"We should get our picture. Alan!" Logan screamed, practically in my ear. I pulled away and turned to see Alan and Pete walking towards us.

"Could you take our picture?" I asked Alan.

"But of course, my dear," he replied in an exaggerated British accent. He took my camera and bowed. Behind him, Pete was laughing hysterically.

Logan put his arm around me and held my hand with his other arm. I put on the best smile I could as Alan took the picture.

"Ok, lovebirds, now let's get to the rides!" Pete yelled. Him and Alan ran for the elevator.

When we got to the ticket booth, I took a long look at the rides, particularly at X-Scream. It looked like a typical roller coaster, which I'd been on before on my trips to Sea City. Of course, the ones at Sea City weren't 900 feet in the air.

I had imagined myself getting on the roller coaster. Logan would take my hand and seat me, then he'd sit beside me. We would pull down the shoulder harnesses, and he would smile at me. Squeezing my hand tight, we would ride the coaster together. This same scenario happened again on High Roller and Big Shot, and I wasn't ever scared, because he was right there beside me.

Not once in any of those scenarios did Alan or Pete pop up behind us screaming about how cool it was. But I didn't really have a choice now. I just had to grin and bear it.

Logan bought both of us an all-day pass for the rides, and it was a group consensus that we go on High Roller, the tamer of the three rides, first.

We waited in line, and it was finally our turn. Logan and I were in the front row, and Pete and Alan were right behind us. Logan sat down first, but he at least took my hand as I was getting in. Ok, half a point. He then dropped my hand so he could buckle his seatbelt and pull down on the harness. No big deal, that took two hands, and I figured he would take my hand again after he'd done that.

But no. He kept his hands on the handles on the harness. I took the half a point away. Logan was currently at zero. And, as the ride started, I lowered that to a negative one since he hadn't even looked at me, let alone smiled.

High Roller is on a track that winds its way around the Stratosphere Tower. While you are only going thirty miles an hour, it feels like much more given that you're almost 900 feet above the ground. I had expected myself to let out a piercing scream the entire time I was on the ride, but instead, I was completely silent, begging for it to be over. I kept my death grip on the handles, and tried my best to hold my head still.

Meanwhile, Logan was screaming "THIS IS AWESOME!" right along with Pete and Alan behind us. Some great Me-And-Logan-Day this was turning out to be.

When the ride was finally over, I lifted up my harness, and sat still for a minute, trying not to throw up or anything else that would be incredibly humiliating. Logan got up first, then turned to me. In my fantasy scenarios, this is the point where he would offer his hand to me, still smiling that great Cam Geary smile, and we would both laugh about how great and exhilerating the ride had been.

"Mary Anne, are you ok?" Alan asked, not sure if he should laugh or not.

"Fine," I snapped. Logan took a deep sigh, then offered his hand. It wasn't exactly the romantic way I had pictured it, so he didn't get a point for that. He was still at negative one.

"Can we take a break?" I asked.

"I guess. How long?" Logan answered.

"I just need to sit down for a minute, ok?" I said. I walked to a nearby bench and sank down on it. Alan and Pete sat down beside me, but tried not to get too close.

"Do you want a soda or something?" Logan asked. All right, that was sweet. I gave him two points so that he was back in the positive numbers.

"I think so." I answered.

"I'm going, too!" Pete and Alan added, in unison. They seemed scared to death that I would barf all over them.

"Can someone stay with Mary Anne?" Logan asked the both of them. They looked at each other and somehow communicated in that silent way that teenage boys can do.

"Fine, I'll do it," Alan said. He sat back down on the bench, as far as he could from me.

We sat in silence for a few minutes until he finally spoke up.

"Are you sure it's just the roller coaster that's bothering you?" he questioned, sounding very sincere.

Wow. Was this the Alan Gray who we were always calling an immature jerk? He almost seemed... nice!

"What do you think?" I answered. I didn't mean that to sound rude, I just wasn't sure how else to answer.

"You didn't want me and Pete here, did you?"

I smiled. "Was it that obvious?"

"A little," he said, laughing.

"Well, ok, this is mostly the coaster. I don't know if I can handle X-Scream or Big Shot. But Logan's just acting so weird today. I don't know if it's you guys being here or not, but this day just isn't turning out like I had imagined it to." I explained. Was this really happening? Was I going to _Alan Gray_ about my problems?

Alan was silent for a moment, looking like he was trying to think of how to respond. I never got to hear anything, though, because that was when Logan and Pete returned.

I thanked Logan and took a few sips of my Coke. The guys talked about how great High Roller was and how they couldn't wait to get on the other two rides.

"You ready?" Logan asked. He didn't look at all sympathetic or caring, he just looked like he was tired of waiting around on me.

"I'm not going." I said, after thinking it over.

"What?"

"I still feel sick from that first one, and that's the tame one! There's no way I'm getting on the other two!" I answered, almost yelling. I shut my mouth and looked around, worried that people were watching us.

"Are you sure? I mean, you've got the ticket already," Logan said as he sat down next to me.

"I'm sure. You guys go, I'll just wait here," I said.

Logan told Alan and Pete to go without him. Not even stopping to argue, they ran for Big Shot.

Please. This is what really happened.

"Ok," he said, seeming a little worried, but not overly upset. "We'll meet you right back here when we're done."

All three of them ran off to get in line for Big Shot. Alan had turned back to look at me, probably figuring I was going to start crying or something. But I didn't. I just sat on the bench and waited for them to finish.

After a very quiet walk back to the hotel, with Pete and Alan looking very awkward and _very_ ready to get away from the two of us, they went to get some dinner while Logan walked me back to my room.

"Mary Anne, just tell me what's wrong," Logan asked as we reached my door. I had already put my key in and had my hand on the knob, waiting to get inside and get away from him.

I couldn't believe it. Did he really need to ask?

"I think you know what's wrong! This day was supposed to be just us two, and you invited Alan and Pete along!" I exclaimed.

"What's the big deal?" he questioned. "I thought it'd be fun to have them with us. You and I are always doing stuff together, or with your friends, we never get to hang out with my friends."

"The big deal is that you're embarrassed by me! You'd rather have a girlfriend who would hang out with other guys and go on thrill rides without getting scared or getting sick!"

"Mary Anne, that's crazy! The only girlfriend I want is you!" he said, looking very fed up with the argument.

"If I'm the only girlfriend you want, then how come you didn't want to be with me today?" I asked.

Before he could answer, I opened the door, walked inside, and slammed it shut.


	9. Abby

_Dear Mom,_

_Las Vegas is great. No allergies, thanks to the desert air… well, as long as I'm not in the hotel room. It's kind of dusty. I've been having fun, and besides, there are tons of Elvises (Elvii?) around everywhere! I've even talked to one. Of the impersonators, that is. He's really… amazing. But that's another story for another postcard…_

_Sorry so short. Miss you._

_Love, Abby_

------------

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Add that to the fact that the dust in the room had caused my sinuses to completely close. Arrrgh, allergies again.

"Cud subbudy ged dat?" I sniffled, fumbling for a box of Kleenex on the nightstand. "Ugh. Where id my meddizine?"

"It's still in your carrying case in the bathroom," Anna called. "But Kristy's in there right now."

"Oh, great… cud you PLEASE ged teh door?"

Anna rolled her eyes at me. "I don't know who would even be at the door… it's just eight-fifteen in the morning!"

I blew my nose. "Kristy!" I pounded on the locked bathroom door. "Id's an embergengy! I need my meddizine!"

"I'll be out in a minute!" Kristy shouted at me.

"You've begn ig der for a af _ouher_." I couldn't help the whining.

"Abby!" Anna called. "Abby… Elvis is at the door."

"Huh?" I shouted. _Elvis?_ Okay, I know I'm a little crazy about Elvis—something that Anna (who adores Stravinsky and Chopin) constantly teases me about—but for her to say that Elvis was the one banging on our door first thing in the morning?

"Anna, if yore joging widh me, I swear I…" I stopped in the middle of the sentence when HE walked in.

He was the guy I'd seen in the lobby with Kristy on our second day. This time, instead of being dressed like old Elvis (the white, rhinestone-studded bell bottoms suit), he was channeling young Elvis: hair in a pompadour, snug white t-shirt, and cuffed dark denim jeans. He was leaning casually against the wall. "Hi," he said, making his lip curl up just like The King.

I froze. What was his name? It was something with a B… Bob? Billy? Boris? Then I remembered that I'd just crawled out of bed and that I was in the middle of an allergy attack. "AAAAAAGH!" I yelled before running into the bathroom just as Kristy was coming out. "Where id my inhaler?"

"Is this a bad time?" B-Elvis asked.

I could hear Anna laughing as I fumbled through my medication bag looking for my nasal inhaler. "No, it's fine. Abby's just… in the middle of an allergy attack. You can come on in, um… what's your name?"

"Blaine."

I quickly brushed my hair before finally deciding to come out of the bathroom to face Blaine. "All better," I said, anxiously crossing my arms. "Hi," I said to Blaine timidly.

Kristy and Anna were both standing there, giving each other Looks. "Um, should we… leave?" Kristy asked. She looked like she was going to laugh.

"No, um, we were… let's go out into the hall," I said, taking Blaine by the arm and leading him out the opened door and into the hallway, away from my very curious sister and friend. "Wow, um… I didn't expect to see you," I said, nervously pulling my hair away from my face.

"You gave me your room number the other day, remember?" he said.

Oh, yeah, I had. At the same time when he'd told me his name… that I'd somehow managed to forget. How Stacey manages to remember the names of all the boys she meets… "Yeah. So! It's kind of early and everything, so, what's up?" _I sound ridiculous! What am I doing?_

He reached into his right pocket and pulled something out. "I made the finals of the contest," he explained, handing me a creased purple flyer. "I'm in the finals of the Elvis impersonating contest! The grand prize is $1000 and the show is on Friday night. I thought that maybe you'd like to come and see it and everything, and maybe bring a few of your friends."

I laughed. Not a _mean_ laugh, just a polite little laugh. "Of _course_ I'd like to come," I said. "As far as getting Kristy or Anna to come… well, that might be a little hard, but they'll listen to me if I threaten them enough."

He laughed in return. "Sounds good. I'll see you later, though."

"All right. Bye." I turned to go back in the room. Kristy and Anna were both sitting on the beds, staring at me. "What?"

"_Blaine?_" Kristy said. "Elvis's name is _Blaine_?"

Anna giggled. "Abby, Blaine is the name of a major appliance."

I felt my ears get hot. "Shut up," I mumbled, trying not to sound too defensive.

"Come on, Abby," Anna pleaded. "Tell me about him."

"All I know is that his name is Blaine Something, and that he's fifteen, lives in Reno, and he's been coming to the spring Elvis impersonation contests since he was nine," I repeated. That part I could remember.

"And you're in _love_ with him," teased Kristy.

I groaned. "I am _not_," I said. "We just share a mutual admiration of the best singer of all time."

"And you _like_ him," Anna added. "I have _never_ seen you freak out about being in the middle of an allergy attack in front of a guy before. My baby sister's growing up."

"Anna, it's not like that at _all_," I insisted. But I was starting to doubt that. "But that's besides the point. He wants me to come see him in the competition on Friday. He made the finals. Can you guys come with me? _Please?_ I don't want to go alone…"

"I don't do Elvis," Kristy protested.

"Come _on,_ Kristy," I pleaded. "Please? Pretty please, Madame President? I will never ask you for another favor as long as I live…"

Kristy crossed her arms. "Only if Anna goes too."

"Hey!" Anna looked upset. "That's blackmail."

"You'll be doing your sisterly duty," I said to her.

After a moment, Anna sighed heavily. "Okay. I'll go, I'll go to see your boyfriend in this thing."

"Yesss!" I said, jumping in excitement. "But he's not my boyfriend!"

"Whatever," Kristy said, rolling her eyes.


	10. Dawn

_Dear Maggie,_

_Hello from Las Vegas! I miss you tons, there's so much stuff to do here. Kristy's stepdad is being really fresh and taking us all to nice restaurants to eat, so we've been basically eating, shopping and lying by the pool for this vacation. Well, some of us have. I'm busy working on getting the MGM Grand to get rid of their cruel lion display. I'm about to go recruit people to protest now. Wish me luck! Wish you were here!_

Love,  
Dawn

When Claudia and Stacey came back to our room from who-knows-where last night, Claudia almost threw a fit because I was using her art supplies. How else was I going to make my protest signs? And when I told them what I was doing, they both just rolled their eyes at me.

"Next time, ask okay? I've got a super secret project I'm working on and I'm going to need most of my supplies," Claudia said.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. This is just way important." I handed them each a sandwhich board. "Now, this is my plan of action. I'm thinking we can all congregate at the lions habitat at noon - "

"Uh, what?" asked Stacey. "I've got plans."

"So do I," said Claudia. "I don't have time for this stuff."

I put my hands on my hips. "What could be more important than this? You guys, these poor lions are being held captive in these aw –"

"Dawn!" interrupted Stacey. "We get it! Look, maybe another day, okay? I'm really tired and I just want to go to sleep."

I could not believe my friends sometimes. None of them were interested in helping out. I couldn't find Jessi or Abby anywhere, Mallory was busy with some secret project (what is it with my friends and secret projects?), Mary Anne was upset over Logan and Kristy was stuck with David Michael and Andrew.

The next morning, my plans got sidetracked a little since we went to breakfast late. We had to wait for Claudia to get dressed, which took forever – but the ending results were very cool. She finally settled on a pair of turquoise Daisy Dukes with a pair of green and blue tights (one leg was green, the other blue. Very dibble). Her shirt was long sleeved and tan with blue sequins that shimmered when she walked. Her earrings were a pair of palm trees with a monkey climbing up them and she was wearing a pair of blue flip flops. She had somehow managed to get her hair up into a weird ponytail that made it look like her _hair_ was a palm tree.

"Get it?" she asked. "I'm an oasis in the middle of the Nevada desert!"

After breakfast, I marched over to the MGM, wearing my sandwich board and carrying a stack of flyers. I also borrowed a bullhorn from the girl at the front desk. I was ready.

"KEEP THE LIONS FREE! JUST SAY NO TO EVIL! FREE THE CAPTIVES!"

Sure, some people were giving me weird looks. That was fine, they probably had indigestion from the carcasses they had consumed at breakfast.

Once I reached the Lion's Habitat, I put down my bullhorn and started pacing back and forth in front of the glass, wearing my sandwich board (FREE THE CAPTIVES! – clever, I thought) and carrying a sign in one hand and flyers in the other.

"Excuse me, can you move?" someone asked. "I'm trying to look at the lions."

Aha! This was my golden opportunity. I handed the woman a flyer and began telling her about how animals need to live in the wild and not be enclosed in some cage.

Do you know what she did? She threw the flyer at me and walked away! I was getting to people! This was great!

I continued marching for about 15 minutes before a man tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, miss?" he said.

"Yes? Did you want to know more about how these poor lions are treated?" I asked excitedly. This was so dibble.

"No. I'm head of security. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises and not return. How old are you?"

"Um. 13." Suddenly my brilliant plan didn't seem so brilliant.

"Are you staying in this hotel?"

"No… I'm staying at the Hard Rock Café with my school."

"Okay, you're going to have to come with me."

Gulp. Was I going to be arrested? I meekly followed him over to the security office where I gave him my name and age.

"Look. You're 13, you're still young. This little… demonstration of yours was disruptive and rude."

"RUDE?" I began to say. "How can you call ME rude when YOU are the ones keeping these ANIMALS in CAPTIVITY."

"Dawn, do you know anything about the Lion's Habitat?"

"I know that you're keeping animals in a small glass cage when they _should_ be roaming free."

"Dawn, the MGM owns 31 lions. Do you see 31 lions in there? No. You don't. We rotate the lions each day, and when they're not in the habitat, they live on a ranch outside the hotel. It's an 8.5-acre ranch. They're not cooped up."

"Oh." I said meekly.

"I'm going to let you go. But if I see you in this hotel pulling this kind of stunt again, I'm not only going to barr you from the hotel, but I'm also going to call your teachers and let them know what you're up to. Understand?"

I nodded.

"Good. Now go enjoy your time in Sin City," he said. "But keep up your passion - it's admirable."

"Thanks," I murmured and left.

I got back to the hotel rooom and threw my signs, sandwich board and flyers on my bed.

"What happened? Didn't go so well?" asked Claudia, who was painting something on the floor.

"No. Long story. I need a nap." I peered down at her. "What are you _doing_?"

"Nothing. Special project."

I rolled my eyes and flopped onto my bed. Maybe I'll be able to get the lions free somewhere else, some other time.


	11. Claudia

_Dear Peaches and Russ,_

_Hi! Veegas is greet! There is a store all about M&M candy. Can you belive it? Miss you all and I will see you soon!_

_Love,_

_Claudia_

I hastily scribbled the postcard to my Aunt and Uncle and then realized I had forgotten to say hello to my niece. Oh well I had much more important things to do and plus she is a baby so she can't read yet. I had spent a lot of time working on my id card and if I say so myself it was a work of art.

The hard part was trying to remember what id's looked like. I had planned a fantastic outfit for my card but Stacey pointed out that id's usually only had a head shot in them. The phonebook in the room had provided me with a nice thick cover that I cut out in the shape of a rectangle. I cut myself out of a group picture and glued that on. I thought about using pinking shears to give it a funky edge but then realized I had left them at home.

At first I was really bummed but realized I should probably hurry up and finish my project. I wrote my name and address and then added a birthday to it. Stacey had to tell me one that would make me twenty-one.

She was becoming really impatient with me because she couldn't wait to try to meet Taylor again. As I opened the bottle of clear sparkly nail polish she jumped out of a chair and glared at me.

"Come on Claudia I do not have time for you to paint your nails".

I swiped my card with the little brush and looked up at her "But Stacey it is for my ID and it will be one minute and then we can go."

Stacey was really getting impatient so I added "And you might want to brush your hair before you go see Taylor"

Her hands flew up to her perfectly permed, fluffy hair and she ran to the bathroom "Thanks Claudia, you're a lifesaver" she called.

As I added the sparkles around my birthday I couldn't help but think if I were a lifesaver I would be genius flavored.

Stacey came out of the bathroom and grabbed her purse and I grabbed my bag and card and headed out of the room behind her. We had left Dawn a note saying where we would be but she had been pretty preoccupied with her Save the Lion campaign these past few days. After a short nap she had stormed out of the room looking for Mary Anne, who was still pretty mad at Logan.

When we arrived at the New York, New York I took a moment to make sure I still had my id card. I had changed clothes again that afternoon because I decided that the Oasis look wasn't quite sophisticated enough to be paired with my id card. Currently I was wearing a pair of gold lame stretch leggings with a paisley-print suit jacket with the sleeves rolled up to reveal the sleeves of my lavender button-up shirt. My hair was pulled back by a matching gold lame headband and from my ears dangled a collection of purple and green beads.

Stacey and I walked into the now familiar lobby and turned to go onto the floor. Suddenly a large man in a suit stepped in front of us and stared at us.

"You must be 21 to be on the floor. May I see your ID?" he asked.

I flashed him a huge smile and pulled my card out of my purse "Certainly" I replied and handed it to him.

I watched as his eyes widened and his face started to turn pink. In fact he sort of looked like he was shaking. He was probably just mesmerized by the sparkles.


	12. Mallory

_Dear Ben,_

_There's so many interesting people in Las Vegas, even just in our hotel, that I don't know where to start! My journal for school is already half-full, and the trip's not even half-over…I might need a second notebook! _

_Is there a Hard Rock Café in Australia? I know I saw one in London when the BSC went on that school trip…anyway, we're staying at the Hard Rock Hotel, and it's HUGE. I'll try to find you a souvenir!_

_Wish you were here! _

_Mallory_

After what had happened, I couldn't even tell Ben or Jessi about my second, private notebook, but I was doing my best to follow up. Since witnessing Jayne's phone call the other day, I tried to spend as much time as possible in the lobby. I just _knew _something suspicious was going on, but I couldn't very well go to the Las Vegas police with no evidence, could I?

Back in Stoneybrook, of course, the BSC is well known for our detective skills-- we've helped solve a lot of mysteries, and a few months ago Claudia finally put Sergeant Johnson on her private phone's speed-dial (actually, the list on her phone reads "Sarjaunt Jonson"-- he's #5, between Mary Anne and "Pitza Express".) If I showed up at the station there and told him what I'd seen, I'm sure he would hear me out. Here I would need something besides my good name to back me up.

The only problem was finding a way to keep an eye on things without Jayne noticing. She'd already said she remembered me when I went to get my second key made; she'd be sure to notice if the same girl kept hanging around the lobby every day. And if she noticed…well, in the old movies my parents watch, nothing good ever happens to people who "know too much." Not only did Jayne know my home address, she also had my room number-- and could print herself a key anytime she pleased.

It wasn't until I saw Abby chatting with some guy dressed as Elvis that I thought of the perfect solution. A disguise! I could go undercover, like Harriet! It's times like these that I really wish my parents would realize how mature I am and let me get contact lenses and maybe straighten my hair--I'd have to work a lot harder to disguise my awful glasses and red hair. But I did the best I could. The morning after I saw the fateful phone call, I tried to put together an outfit without being too obvious.

"Mary Anne? Could I borrow your sunglasses?" (Mary Anne burns really easily, so she brings heavy-duty sunglasses, sunscreen and this caftan the size of Nebraska whenever she goes out in the sun.)

Mary Anne looked back at me quizzically, and Jessi glanced over from where she was doing stretches in front of the full-length mirror. "Um, Mal?" she began. "I don't know how well they'll fit over your _regular_ glasses…maybe you should just wear a visor or something."

"…But if you want to, I guess you can," Mary Anne broke in. She looked just as confused as Jessi sounded, but I knew Mary Anne would come through-- she's so dibbly generous and sweet and nice to me and Jessi, not like _some_ senior BSC members I could name.

"Thanks!" I snapped up the glasses and dashed into the bathroom to shower. After washing my hair, I carefully brushed it out with a wide hairbrush. It takes forever to brush my hair straight (well, straightish), so I don't do it often. But after fifteen minutes, it had gone from a big curly mess to…a big, frizzy, poofy but not _as _curly mess. At least I could pull it back into a bun, and with my hair secured, put on my baseball cap to hide the distinctive color. My hat's a souvenir from Chincoteague Island with embroidered horses across the front, and my tamed hair just barely fit under it.

Now for the glasses-switch. With Mary Anne's dark shades on, and _without_ my own glasses, I could barely see far enough to notice what I looked like in the mirror. But I could tell I looked like The Undercover Mallory Pike-- maybe my BSC friends would recognize my hat, if they looked carefully, but Jayne would see just another girl in sunglasses and a hat, sitting on the bench and writing. I would blend in completely.

I waited until Jessi and Mary Anne had left the hotel room to walk to the elevator myself. I wished someone else was there, though, just to push the buttons-- with my bad vision, I went to floors 43 and 6 before hitting the "lobby" button correctly. I had my regular glasses in my pocket, just in case, but I wanted to get downstairs without them so I wouldn't have to switch again and risk getting seen.

And, of course, once I was downstairs I realized that I couldn't see very well at all-- definitely not well enough to watch Jayne from the bench. I sighed. None of this would be happening if I could just wear contacts. Then I remembered a writing exercise I'd read about somewhere. Maybe not being able to see could help me to listen better! I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the noise of the lobby. I could hear two voices behind the counter-- Jayne, and what sounded like a young man. Her coworker, I guess-- maybe he could provide a clue to the mystery.

"Hard Rock Hotel, Jayne speaking. Yes, I can help you with a reservation, when were you-- _(beep.) _Oh, sorry; can you please hold?"

_Beep. _(Wait. Why was Jayne just leaving that customer? Wasn't helping customers her _job_?)

"Yes, this is Jayne…Excuse me? The shipment of-"

A shipment of WHAT? She'd been cut off. I tried not to visibly perk up, as I listened intently and wished I had a little tape recorder like reporters use.

"But that shipment was due last Tues-…Yes, I know demand is high and you're backed up, bu- Okay, Mr. Sheehan. If Friday's the earliest-"

(This guy was sure cutting Jayne off a lot. And what was she so desperate to have delivered?!)

"…Yes, thank you. All right. Thanks, bye."

_Click._

Jayne was still speaking under her breath, but I guess to her coworker-- it didn't sound like she was on the phone anymore. Had she just left that customer hanging? What could be so important that she couldn't finish the reservation?

"Jesus H. Christ, Matt, I don't know why I put up with this shit. I heard they're hiring over at Circus Circ- … crap, there's the phone again. Can you go check the brochure racks, make sure those damn kids didn't run off with fifty apiece again?"

Her voice changed-- now it was higher, more like it had been when she'd checked us into the hotel and, later, made my second key. "Hard Rock Hotel, Jayne speaking…yes, we do have handicapped-accessible rooms, but you have to request one in advance. Would you like to make a reservation?"

I was flabbergasted. The bright, friendly Jayne I'd met on our first day in Vegas was just an _act _! She was nothing like the cranky, profane woman I'd just heard-- now her impatience the day before made sense. That was the _real_ Jayne. If she hated her job that much, who knows to what lengths she'd go to express her inner anger and violence? What was the shipment she was so worried about? I know they don't ship bombs through the US Postal System, but maybe the Fed-Ex delivery guy was in on her plot…

I didn't get a chance to think any further, though, because I heard a name I recognized. "Stacey?! Stacey McGill?" The voice didn't sound familiar, and Jayne seemed occupied on the computer, so I quickly decided to risk detection by putting my regular glasses back on to see who was calling to Stacey. A blonde, tanned boy a few years older than me walked past briskly, toward the door from which Stacey and Claudia had just entered with a tall, burly man…and none of them looked very happy.

"Hi, Tay-" Stacey began weakly, but her voice dropped off as she noticed the nametag on the tall man's black shirt. "Oh…oh, no. Officer TAYLOR? So you're-"

"Are these young ladies _friends _of yours, Stewart?"

"Oh my LORD…" Claudia had been standing there looking shell-shocked, but now she was looking back and forth from the man-- who had a hand on her shoulder and one on Stacey's, as if to keep them from running off-- to the boy, and finally to Stacey. "You're Taylor's-"

"What's going on, Stacey? I thought you were going to meet me!"

"What's going ON--" began Officer Taylor, "is that I just caught these two trying to get into the casino using a fake ID"-- I gasped without even realizing it, and Claudia spun around and shot me a Look that would stop traffic-- "…from the mythical land of Conaecticut."

"And now, Jayne, if you could please locate a room number for these girls' chaperone, then we can get down to business."

"No problem." As Jayne tapped away at her keyboard, I looked down at my notebook to avoid eye contact with Stacey or Claudia. Using a FAKE ID for GAMBLING? That was so utterly stale. And now that everyone from SMS would be focused on Stacey and Claudia's mistake, Jayne would have the perfect opportunity to carry out her plot!


	13. Kristy

_Dear Shannon,_

_Wish you were here! The weather is great, and Vegas is as full of glittery glitz as you can imagine._

_Hey Shannon, how's Shannon? Heh. Thanks for taking care of our animals while we're gone. I hope it doesn't interfere with your already busy schedule. _

_I have a great idea that I can't wait to tell you more about. This is a big one! Even bigger than my usual big ideas!_

_See you soon!_

_Kristy_

I spent a surprising amount of time by myself today. Mom caught me on the way out this morning and said she was going to take David Michael and Andrew around town and maybe on some amusement park rides, so I would get a little reprieve from watching them. It was nice of her to do that, but it meant that I would be spending the morning alone. No one had seen Claudia or Kristy since the night before (off chasing boys, no doubt); Mary Anne was going to try again to spend some alone time with Logan; Dawn was most likely off protesting the sun for its harsh treatment of the desert or something; Abby was hanging out with Elvaine or Blelvis or whatever his name was; Jessi was hiding in her room, still cloaked in shame after her "Cirque de Soleil" experience; and Mallory was spending an endless amount of time hanging out in the hotel lobby and scribbling in her notebook. (What was _that_ about anyway? Yeah, the lobby of our hotel is pretty cool, but there are other things to see in Vegas. Whatever, Mal.)

It felt a little strange to wander around Vegas alone. There were so many groups of families and friends around, and I am used to being surrounded by people: family members, friends, or baby-sitting charges. I have to admit that I kind of enjoyed the alone time, though. It was definitely more peaceful, and sometimes I feel so different from my friends anyway. Mallory and Jessi are nice, but younger, and they have their horses and ballet to keep them busy. Stacey and Claudia are my age, but they often feel much older, since they're so sophisticated and spend so much time chasing boys. It's hard to feel as close to Dawn anymore, with her being in California and me being a carnivore and all. Mary Anne has Logan and her guidebooks. Abby's great, but she seems to only have eyes for Elvis on this trip. If we didn't have baby-sitting in common, sometimes I wonder if we would all even _be_ friends. Thank goodness for the BSC. And when I think about it, the BSC wouldn't exist without me, so thank goodness for me!

I decided to wander around some of these hotels and snap a few pictures. I usually don't go much for this glitzy glamour type stuff, but I have to admit that some of these hotels are pretty spectacular. The Venetian has a canal _inside_ the hotel! With boats and singing gondoliers and everything. Crazy, huh? I'll bet that Mom and Watson came here and took a ride, after mooning all over each other at the Monte Carlo. What's so great about kissing on a boat, anyway? And it's so embarrassing for _parents _to do it. In public! Ew.

I quickly began to get bored. Big hotels and picture-snapping by yourself gets old fast. I headed over to Circus Circus, where all the crazy clowns and acrobats reminded me of several carnivals that I had organized (well, technically, they were carnivals that the _club_ had organized) for the kids we baby-sit back in Stoneybrook. I know it had only been a few days, but I _missed_ those carnivals. I missed baby-sitting.

Wandering through the Circus Circuslobby, I spotted Nannie! She was sitting at a _Mayor of Casterbridge_ slot machine. She looked a bit…odd, actually. She was not using quarters like a lot of people do, but she had one of these funny credit card-type things in the machine. The card was connected to her by a strap around her wrist. It was like she was literally tied to the machine. She was punching the buttons on the machine with one hand, and rubbing a rabbit's foot with the other. Boy, Nannie had better not let Dawn see that or she'd never hear the end of it.

I went up to her. "Hi Nannie!" I said. "Can't talk now, hon, on a roll," she replied, pressing buttons frantically. "C'mon, baby, the Pink Clinker needs a neeeew set of spark plugs…one…two…c'mon baby…yes!" The machine started dinging wildly. "Three goldfinches! Woot! If I can get the three mariners, I'll be rich! Kristy, honey, this is my lucky machine! You can tell your mama that I might not be back for dinner tonight." Dinner? It was only 9:30 in the morning. "But Nannie, weren't you going to watch the kids tonight, so that Watson could take Mom out, and I could go to the Fremont Street Experience with my friends?" (The Fremont Street Experience is this big light show that Mary Anne had been raving about. I usually roll my eyes at her walking guidebook tendencies, but I had to admit that Fremont Street sounded pretty distant. ("Distant" is a word that my friends and I sometimes use. It means "dibble" or "fresh." ("Dibble" and "fresh" are the opposite of "stale," which is a word that my friends and I use when we don't like something.)))

"Well, hon, "she replied, not taking her eyes off the machine, "I'm making money, here! This is a bit more important." I gasped, horrified. What could possibly be more important than baby-sitting? "Nannie, I think that you might have a problem," I began, tentatively. "You're going to sit here at this machine instead of watching Karen, Andrew, David Michael and Emily Michelle? What about the children?" "Oh, screw the ch-" Nannie began, then stopped, sighed, and finally turned to look at me. "Look around, Kristy, tons of parents and grandparents are here. That's why grown-ups come to Vegas, baby!" She cleared her throat. "_Ahem_. I'm sure you and your friends won't mind bringing the kids with you when you go out tonight. Now run along, hon, I've got some work to do! At this rate, I might be able to trade in the Pink Clinker for a…a Red Rager! Yes!" And she went back to punching buttons and rubbing the foot. I supposed that she knew what she was doing.

As I thought about what Nannie had said about parents who come to Vegas to gamble, I felt an idea begin to form in my head (this is a pretty common feeling for me). What if these parents had easy access to baby-sitters in Vegas, just like parents do in Stoneybrook? They could gamble all they wanted! Then I realized that most people who come to Vegas are tourists, coming from all over the country, and even the world. My friends and I went on trips all the time. If we could start a temporary BSC in Vegas for gambling parents, those parents would remember our spectacular service when they went home, and then when our school and families inevitably took trips to those clients' towns, the parents would remember us, tell their friends, and we would always have business, wherever we went! We could be baby-sitting all the time, in every place!

With the idea still percolating in my head, I rushed to the Circus Circus gift shop and found exactly what I needed: a visor and a pencil. The "Clowns do it better" logo on the visor was a little strange, but I didn't care. A visor and a pencil were imperative if I wanted anyone to take me seriously at the Emergency BSC meeting I was going to call in our hotel room that night. I couldn't _wait_ to tell the others about my spectacular idea…the BSC was going from Stoneybrook, to Vegas, to the world!


	14. Alan

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_Here's the postcard you told me_

_to send. Las Vegas is really fun._

_Our hotel is cool. I'll see you_

_guys soon. Hope you're having_

_fun in Stoneybrook (ha ha). _

_Your son,_

_Alan_

There. Mom and dad kept bugging me to send them a postcard, so there they go.

After I dropped that in the mailbox in the lobby, I went over to the buffet place for dinner. It's at our hotel and most of us SMS kids ate all our meals there. They have tons of food and it only costs $4.99. You wouldn't believe how much food Pete, Logan, Trevor, Rick, and I can eat.

None of the guys had gotten there when I arrived, so I looked for a place to sit. All I saw was all these old couples, some people dressed like Elvis (they are so dumb), this one couple dressed in wedding clothes, and those Baby-Sitters Club girls. I figured they were at least better than just sitting by myself.

"Dears," I said when I got to their table in a really great British accent, "I beseech thee, might I have a seat at yon table?"

"Beseech?" Claudia asked, looking confused.

"Just sit down, Alan." Kristy told me. The only seat left was on the end of their table, next to that sixth grader Mallory and across from Kristy. Mallory looked nervous when I sat down, and wrote down something her notebook that she was keeping in her lap. I glanced a quick peek at the book, and just saw one line that said _"What if she's shipping drugs?!?!?!?!?"_ That girl is really weird.

Just about as weird as her was the get-up Claudia was wearing. Now, Claudia is pretty cute. She's one of the hottest girls in our grade. But she sure can come up with some strange clothing choices. Today she was wearing a man's gray suit. The jacket and pants were gray, and it had a white collared shirt and a blue tie. She was even wearing this gray hat with it (I think it's called a derby hat). Her earrings, usually the weirdest part of her outfits, were tiny old-fashioned microphones.

"That's some outfit, Claudia," I told her. I guess that sounded nice enough.

"It's an homage to the Rat Pack," she informed me.

"Well, you sure do look like a rat," I replied. She stuck out her tongue at me.

"I never saw Molly Ringwald dressed like _that_," Kristy pointed out.

"That's the _Brat_ Pack, Kristy," Dawn snapped. "Claudia is dressed like the _Rat_ Pack. You know, like Frank Sinatra?"

Before Dawn could begin lecturing us on this history of the Rat Pack or something, I decided to speak up.

"What are you lovely ladies up to this fine evening?" I asked.

"We were thinking of going to… what's it called again, Mary Anne?" Claudia asked.

Mary Anne, who had been talking to Stacey and Abby at the other end of the table, replied, "The Fremont Street Experience."

"Yeah, that. It's supposed to be really fresh." Claudia informed me.

"Why? Do you want to go or something?" Dawn asked me.

"Maybe I do," I answered. She was really getting on my nerves. "What is it?" I asked.

"It's a light show," Kristy told me.

"Pete and I were thinking of going over to the Star Trek thing at the Hilton," I told them.

"That sounds pretty cool," Claudia said after thinking about it for a minute. "Mind if I come?" she asked.

"Me too!" Dawn spoke up. "I went on a tour of the Paramount Studios once in California and I got to see the sets from one of the Star Trek shows."

Oh, yeah. This was going to be a _great_ night.

So, Pete, Claudia, Dawn, and I, hopped on a bus from our hotel and headed down to the Las Vegas Hilton. I tried to get Logan to go, but he wanted to try and talk to Mary Anne, so he went with all those girls to that light thing. So it was just us four. Like the worst double date ever.

Well, it wasn't that bad. The place we went is pretty cool.

It's called Star Trek: The Experience. Now, I've never been much of a Trekkie or whatever it's called, but I've seen the show a few times. Pete knows a little more about it than I do, so he was the one who had suggested it. Claudia seemed more like me, she just thought the place sounded fun, and Dawn just kept talking about the real sets in California.

We got off the bus and went through the lobby and down into The Experience. I wished we hadn't eaten dinner just before, because there was a really cool restaurant called Quark's Bar & Restaurant.

"Oo, let's go get dessert there!" Claudia exclaimed.

"Ew! It's probably all processed sugars and artificial colorings!" Dawn told her.

"Mmmm… artificial colorings…" Claudia said. Sometimes she's pretty cool.

"How about after we do the two rides?" Pete suggested.

We passed by a huge souvenir shop as we headed to the ticket booth. We had to distract Claudia from that so she would go on and get her ticket and go on the rides. I wanted to go in the store later, anyway, it had some really cool daggers and swords and stuff.

The Experience has two rides. One's called Klingon Encounter, and it's a simulator ride where you're fighting the Klingons or something. Then there's this really cool sounding one called Borg Invasion 4D. The Borg are some kind of robots or something. Pete tried to explain them, but I wasn't really paying attention. Anyway, this one's more of an attraction than a ride. There's a movie part to it, and these real actors are in it who try to capture you.

We all got our tickets and went on Klingon Encounter first. While we were in line, Dawn kept talking about how some guy who was the brother of a guy she goes to school with played a Klingon in one of the movies. Finally, it was our turn to get on.

The ride was awesome. It was all a simulator, but it was really cool. There were all these fights and stuff, and we got to be "transported" on the ship. I was hoping to myself that Dawn wouldn't explain to us how the show did the special effects for the transporting once the ride was over.

After that one, we headed straight over to Borg Invasion 4D. It's supposed to be even better than the Klingon thing, and considering how good Klingon Encounter was, that's saying a heck of a lot.

"These Star Trek people dress so funky," Claudia said as we waited in line.

"What, those red-and-black uniforms?" I asked, talking about the ones that over half the people there were wearing. They looked kind of dorky to me.

"Yeah! But not just those. They have lots of cool jewelry, too. And their hairstyles are so fresh," she told us. Pete and I just nodded. Dawn was talking to this couple in line behind us about when she saw some Star Trek actor at the mall one time.

We finally got in and everything we'd heard was right. It was even better than Klingon Encounter. These real Borg guys were actually in there, kidnapping us and everything! Claudia kept grabbing my arm and screaming all throughout it. This would've been kind of cool if she wasn't still wearing that suit.

"Ok, time for some ice cream!" Claudia shouted as we left the ride.

"Ugh. Really? Wouldn't you rather-" Dawn started.

"No!" Pete and I exclaimed before she could suggest anything else.

We got a table in the bar area of the restaurant and Pete, Claudia, and I all ordered sodas and large sundaes. Dawn ordered an orange juice, then asked the waitress what she could order that hadn't been slaughtered and didn't contain anything artificial. She finally ended up with veggie sticks and dip.

While we ate, Claudia told us all the story about how she'd been caught in the casino with a fake id. The security guard ended up contacting the chaperones, and they called her parents.

"So, when we get back, I have to write an essay about what I've learned from all of this. Plus I'm totally grounded." She concluded.

"That's not so bad," Pete said, reassuringly. "At least they didn't arrest you or anything. And at least the teachers didn't try to ground you to the hotel."

"I can't believe they didn't," Dawn added.

We finished up our sundaes (Dawn finished her veggie sticks and mentioned how she felt better and had more energy now), paid our bill, and left the restaurant.

Claudia made a beeline for the souvenir shop and we, of course, followed. Pete and I picked up these big Klingon sword things and started fighting with them. I wish I could've bought one, but there was no way I could have gotten it on the plane. They sure were cool.

"Look at all these cool things!" Claudia exclaimed, pulling us over to a jewelry counter. Most everything there was those pins that the Star Trek guys wear. There were also some necklaces and earrings with different Star Trek things on them. Claudia looked like she was in heaven checking out everything.

When we finally left, Claudia had a bagful of those pins, plus a couple necklaces and pairs of earrings. Dawn bought some kind of toy for her brother, and Pete and I left empty-handed, but wishing we'd gotten the swords.

You know, swords or not, and even despite Dawn's ramblings, this was turning out to be a pretty cool trip.


	15. Jessi

_Dear Keisha,_

_The worst thing has happened! This is the most awful vacation ever. I miss you and Oakley so much!! I'll tell you all about it when I get back to Stoneybrook. Just don't tell anyone that I'm having a bad time!_

_Love,_

Jessi 

Bang bang! "This unofficial, super dibble Baby Sitters Club meeting will now come to order!" announced Kristy.

Kristy had ordered us all to meet in her hotel room for what was apparently a dibbly fresh idea that she had cooked up. All of Kristy's ideas are dibble though. I heaved a sigh. Too bad my ideas weren't dibble. Ever.

"Ugh. Can we turn off the TV?" she asked.

"NO!" bellowed Claudia and Stacey. "We uh. We want to watch the news," said Stacey.

Kristy gave them a weird look. "Okay. Any new business?" she asked.

"_I_ want to know what's wrong with Jessi," announced Stacey. "She's been moping and moping for the last two days. What's up?"

All eyes turned to look at me. At that moment, I wished I wasn't black. I wished I were olive green so I would match the colour of the wall I was leaning against.

"Nothings wrong," I mumbled.

"There's definitely something wrong," said Mary Anne softly. "You haven't been yourself since the Cirque audition."

"Oh, yeah! The audition! How'd that go?" asked Kristy. The others chimed in, also wanting to know how it went.

"Itwasfineanwayswhatsyourfreshideakristy!?" I mumbled.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?" asked everyone in one voice. Then we had to wait as everyone hooked pinkies and said jinx.

"It was… fine. Yeah. Fine." I said.

"If it was fine, then you wouldn't be moping about as you have been all week," said Kristy. "What happened? Did you chicken out?" Mary Anne glared at her. "I'm kidding, Jessi. What happened?"

I heaved a big sigh. I guess the story would have to come out.

"Well, I went to the audition. And I thought I did really well, even though the stage was small and the music didn't match my dancing. But as it turned out, I didn't go to the auditions for Cirque, I went to the audition for a new strip club!!"

Everyone gasped. "A strip club?" whispered Mary Anne. "Did you… Jessi…"

"No! I didn't strip or anything. I just did a lot of really cool _tour jetes_ and everything. I'm just so mad at myself! How could I make such a dumb mistake like that!? I'm _eleven_ and my making this mistake just proves that I'm as big of a baby as my parents think I am. I should be kicked of the club."

Mary Anne's eyes filled with tears and she rushed to sit next to me. I glanced over at Mal, wondering why my best friend wasn't comforting me either. She was too busy scribbling in her notebook. Well. If that's the way my best friend wanted to treat me, then fine. I didn't need her.

"Jessi, we're not going to kick you out of the club. You're not a baby! It was an honest mistake," said Kristy.

"Yeah. Anyone could have done it. We've all made mistakes before," said Stacey, looking over at Claudia.

"I know that anyone could make a mistake. But I'm just _so_ mad at myself! And I was really looking forward to being in Cirque and dancing up on stage."

"Well, we don't know that you would have gotten _into_ Cirque," began Dawn, who was silenced by a steely glare from Mary Anne.

"It must be hard, but it doesn't mean you're any less of a dancer" she said softly. I smiled gratefully at her.

"HEY! Check this out!" exclaimed Claudia, pointing at the TV.

"Missed out on the auditions for Cirque de Soliel?" the TV was asking. "Weep no more! We're holding a special final audition tomorrow for all those who missed it!"

Everyone scrambled to get a pen and paper. "This way," said Kristy, "we won't get the addresses wrong."

As everyone scribbled down the address, I laughed. I have such great friends! I glanced over at Mallory, who was still furiously writing in her journal.

"Well," I thought. "I have _five_ great friends."


	16. Stacey

_Dear Mom,_

_Hello from Paris! Or should I say, Hello from the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas! It almost looks like the real thing and it reminds me of the European vacation we took last year. We're all having a great time and don't worry…we're having fun and being careful. Got to go – time to shop!_

_Love,_

_Stacey_

I had to congratulate myself as I scribbled the postcard to Mom. I managed to give her a fairly accurate picture of how I spent my day, without mentioning who I spent it with -- Taylor!

I had gotten pretty lucky in "Claudia and the Great Fake ID Disaster" and managed to convince the chaperone not to call my parents. After all, I didn't have a fake ID and Claudia stretched the truth a bit (okay, she lied) and told them I didn't even know she had one.

To my surprise, Taylor called me that evening. I figured that after the scene with his dad, he wouldn't want anything to do with me. But instead he asked to spend the day with me. He said he wanted to show me some of his favorite spots in Las Vegas. I couldn't wait.

Claudia and Dawn both woke up early to help me get ready. After trying on about a million outfits, I finally went with my best sophisticated NYC girl "look:" A black and white checkered flared skirt with a wide black waistband, over black biker shorts with a red tee-shirt layered over a black one. I wore red ballet slippers on my feet and, although Claud offered some of her crazy Vegas-themed jewelry, I wore my own large silver hoop earrings and a charm bracelet with New York landmarks. Finally I fluffed my blonde perm and went downstairs to meet Taylor.

"Hi Stacey, ready for our big day?" he asked when I appeared. He was wearing khakis and a nice polo shirt. I couldn't get over how cute he was!

"Sure am. Where are we headed?"

"Well, there are a couple Las Vegas hotels that you haven't seen yet. And they really have to be seen to be believed. I figured we start at the Paris."

During the walk over I told him all about the BSC, and especially Claudia. He just couldn't stop laughing about her fake ID. He said it sounded like something his friends would do, although they would probably have left out the sparkles. It turned out he had just turned 16 and was in his sophomore year of high school.

The Paris was absolutely beautiful. It really did look just like I remembered France. We wandered around the lobby, peeked into the casino and then he bought us tickets for the Eiffel Tower Experience.

"So you've been to the real Eiffel Tower, right?" Taylor asked as we rode the elevator up. I was sure that if Mary Ann had been with us, she would have been able to tell me exactly how tall the tower was, when it had been built and the name of every single landmark we could see from the top.

"My friends and I took a vacation to Paris and London earlier this year."

"Wow, Europe and Las Vegas? That's a lot of vacationing for one school year."

"Oh, we've been other places too! We went to the Bahamas, camp, a ski lodge in Vermont, California, Hawaii, Sea City, Shadow Lake…we also took a trip across the U.S. in two RVs."

"Your school must have a lot of vacation time," Taylor said, shaking his head slightly. From our vantage point over the Strip he point out some of the other hotels and casinos.

Next we went shopping at the hotel's Le Boulevard, where I bought gifts for Mom, Dad and Laine, and had lunch at a cozy Parisian-style café. I couldn't believe how perfect Taylor was -- he was cute, funny and even liked shopping. But the biggest surprise came when we both ordered Diet Coke for lunch.

"I'm diabetic," he told me quietly. "No sugary drinks or anything else with sugar either."

"Really? Me too!" I exclaimed. It was like fate. While we ate we compared stories of our illness.

"There's just one more place I'd like to take you," Taylor said as we strolled that afternoon in the hot sunshine. "It's The Venetian."

My heart began to flutter. The Ventian! Maybe I would get my gondola ride after all.

When we arrived Taylor led me straight to the canal. "I thought we'd take a boat ride. What do you think?"

"It's perfect. I can't believe this is all inside a hotel!" I told him as we climbed into our gondola.

It was the most romantic moment of my life. We had the gondola all to ourselves and Taylor held my hand as we glided through the waters. I thought about all the other boys I had known – Sam, Toby, Pierre, Ethan, Robert – and I knew I had never felt like this about any of them.

Finally Taylor leaned over and gave me a sweet kiss. I wasn't just in luv. I was in L-O-V-E!


	17. Mary Anne

_Dear Grandma,_

_Wow! I love Las Vegas! I am having_

_THE BEST time here! You and I have_

_to come here sometime, you would _

_love it! We're staying at the Hard Rock_

_Hotel and we've visited just about all _

_there is to do! This place is great!_

_Love,_

_Mary Anne_

I couldn't tell anyone about how I was really feeling. Of course, all the BSC members knew I'd had a fight with Logan, but I didn't even have to tell them that, it was pretty obvious. Since the fight, he's been going back and forth between hanging out with Alan and Pete and the other guys, or going on our outings trying to get me to forgive him. But I won't. He's spent his time talking with Kristy and all the other girls.

Today was a lazy day. We were all feeling a little burned out from exploring the city, so some of us decided to hang out at the hotel and swim. Jessi spent more of her time in the hotel's gym getting in as much practice as she could for her Cirque du Soleil auditions, Kristy went somewhere with Sam and Charlie, and both Stacey and Abby were off with the guys they had met.

So the five of us (me, Claudia, Dawn, Anna, and Mallory (Mallory had that notebook of hers)) staked out a section of lounge chairs out by the pool. Well, the four of them got lounge chairs. I sat at the table next to them that had a big umbrella over it. I am _extremely_ sensitive to the sun, so I can't lay out and tan like all the others can. Over my swimsuit, I was wearing a terrycloth caftan and I had a huge straw hat on. I also covered myself with SPF 45. Meanwhile, the other girls passed around Dawn's bottle of suntan oil that she'd brought from California. She said that the ones they sold here in the gift shop weren't good enough, and this was the best way to get a real California tan. It smelled great, like coconuts (which aren't exactly Californian). My lotion just smelled like lotion. I wished I could lay out like they were doing, but such is my life.

I pulled out a bottled water and the latest issue of _Teen Scene_, both of which I'd just purchased in the gift shop before coming out here, put on my sunglasses, and settled back in my chair. Claudia and Anna both had on headphones and were lying flat with their eyes closed. Dawn was reading a book, and Mallory was reading through her notebook and making marks on some of the pages.

I opened up _Teen Scene_ to an article about summer fashions. Maybe I could find a cute new swimsuit to wear if I ended up getting invited to Sea City again this summer. Or at least a cute caftan, since that's all anyone would really see. I wished I could wear all those cute bikinis and the even cuter coverups like everyone else did. You should have seen what Claudia had on that day. Her swimsuit was a not-too-skimpy bikini (well, not skimpy compared to the ones Stacey wears) that looked like it was made out of sequins. Of course, it wasn't really made out of sequins, it was made like a normal swimsuit, but then it was completely covered in purple sequins. She also had a really cute sarong that she'd made herself. It was a big piece of purple fabric that had dice all over it, and instead of just normal beaded fringe on the edge, she had fringe that was tiny miniature dice (she had made earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet out of the mini dice as well). She looked very chilly (not chilly as in cold, but chilly as in fresh).

I was admiring a really cute pair of flip-flops in the magazine when I noticed a shadow over it from someone sitting down on the other side of the table.

"Hi," an unmistakable voice twanged.

I sighed quietly and put my magazine down on the table.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"We've talked," I told him.

"No, we haven't, Mary Anne. Would you just listen to me for a second?" he pleaded.

"I guess," I said.

"I didn't mean to do anything to upset you, Mary Anne. I love hanging out with you, but I also like hanging out with the guys sometimes. And it seems like I'm always with you or with you and the other club members, but you never get to hang out with me and the guys. I thought you'd think it was fun going on all those rides with Pete and Alan." He explained.

"But I asked _you _if _you_ wanted to go to the Stratosphere _together_. Not you with Pete and Alan," I replied.

"I know, and I apologize," he started, "But I didn't know you were planning it like a date. And Pete found the place in that travel magazine in our room and I mentioned that you and I were going, and…" he trailed off.

"You could've just told them that you'd go with them another time, or you could have at least asked me first. If you'd asked me, I might have said yes, but I didn't know they were going, and I was imagining that day to go a lot better than it actually did."

"So how long are you going to go on treating me like this?" he asked.

"Until you can see my side of the story." I retorted. I picked _Teen Scene_ back up and started reading about the summer fashions again. He sat there for about another minute, trying to decide if he should say something. Finally, he just sighed, got up, and jumped in the pool to join a bunch of the guys in a volleyball game.

"So I guess that didn't go well," Claudia said as she pulled off her headphones.

"Duh," Dawn said from behind her book.

"He just doesn't understand how inconsiderate he was of me that day. I felt like I wasn't even there," I told them.

"Maybe he just didn't know that you didn't want Pete and Alan there," Mallory said, trying to be helpful.

"But that's the point, he didn't know. He should have just asked me. I mean, if he had asked me out somewhere while we were on this trip, I wouldn't go and invite you guys to come with us without checking with him," I told Mallory.

"I guess so," Mallory said, not really sounding like she understood. She would understand when she had a real boyfriend someday.

I turned the page in the magazine to an article that was a collection of letters from all these girls about these big romantic gestures their boyfriends had done for them. I sighed as I glanced out at the pool to Logan, who was oblivious to the fact that I was even there. Some of the things that these boys did for the girls in the article were amazing. If Logan would just act like a real boyfriend for once, I might have a letter to submit to _Teen Scene._

Of course, it would take a lot from Logan to make up for this.


	18. Karen

_Dear Mommy and Seth,_

_Las Vegas is the prettiest place I have_

_ever visited. I would like to stay in the_

_lobby of our hotel all day and play Let's All_

_Come In. That would be a dream come true_

_There is a lot to do and see here. I wish_

_that Hannie and Nancy could have come_

_with me. We would have a lot of fun here_

_together._

_Love,_

_Karen_

I am so lucky that my daddy brought me and our family to Las Vegas, Nevada. It is such an exciting place to be. I would like to visit every city in the world. Daddy has enough money for me to do that. Mommy says that if Daddy spends a lot of money on me, I will be spoiled. I would not care if he spoiled me. I would get to spend a lot of money.

I think that our hotel is the most beautiful hotel in the world. And I have stayed in a lot of hotels. I even play a game called Let's All Come In, where me and my friends and sometimes my brothers and my baby-sitters pretend that we are in a hotel. It is one of my most favorite games.

The first day we were here I told Daddy that I wanted to explore the hotel all day. He told me that there were some rooms I could not go into. There are places called casinos that do not let children in them. I think that I am very mature, even though I am only 7, and they should let me go into any room I want. But Daddy says that rules are rules and he could get into a lot of trouble if someone finds me in a casino. I am just too young.

This morning I decided that I wanted to go to the pool all day. I have a beautiful new swimsuit. It is blue with pink hearts and yellow suns and purple flowers and orange suns on it. My stepbrother Sam said that it looks like I am wearing a bowl of Lucky Charms, but I think that it is the most beautiful bathing suit in the world.

Daddy and Elizabeth and Andrew and Emily Michelle and I were going to the pool when we passed by a man who was handing people pieces of paper. He was dressed up like a leprechaun. I giggled and took a piece of paper from him. The piece of paper said that a restaurant called Lucky, which was right in our hotel, was having something called a Midnight Breakfast. The restaurant is not usually open at midnight, but that night they would be serving a special breakfast.

"Daddy, can we go?" I asked.

Daddy looked at the piece of paper and frowned. I did not think that was a good sign. "I don't think you're old enough for that, Karen," he told me.

"But, Daddy, it will be so much fun!" I said. "I want to stay up that late. I can do it, really. I have done it on New Year's Eve."

"I don't think so," he told me. "Maybe if you were older."

I pouted all the way to the pool. But while I was swimming, I got a brilliant idea. (My big step-sister Kristy would be so proud.) I knew how to get from our hotel room to the restaurant. I could wait until Daddy and Elizabeth and Andrew and Emily Michelle fell asleep and then I could ride the elevator downstairs and have Midnight Breakfast with the adults.

I was very excited about my idea and had to keep reminding myself not to tell anyone what I was planning. I did not want to get in trouble because I wanted to sneak out. Daddy and Elizabeth would not be very happy if they knew.

That night, I went to bed at my bedtime and pretended to fall asleep. I sang songs and told stories in my head to keep myself awake. I was a little tired, but I was so excited about the Midnight Breakfast that I could not fall asleep if I wanted to. Around eleven o'clock, I heard Daddy and Elizabeth get into bed. A few minutes later, Daddy started snoring. I knew that when it was time to sneak out, he and Elizabeth would not hear me.

At exactly 11:57 I quietly got out of bed. I was wearing pajamas that looked like regular clothes, so I did not bother to change back into my clothes. I took one of our keys from Daddy's bedside table. I know that stealing is wrong, but it was not really stealing. I was going to bring it back. I was borrowing the key.

I crept down the hall and pressed the button for the elevator. When it came and the doors opened, a little bell rang and I worried that Daddy or Elizabeth would hear it and wake up. Luckily, I got into the elevator before anyone could see me. No one was inside. I pressed the button for the lobby and rode down by myself, feeling very grown up.

There were a lot of people outside Lucky's, waiting for it to open. I was smaller than everyone else, and no one seemed to notice that I was there. There was a stack of matchbooks that said "Lucky" on them. I took one. I thought it would be a nice souvenir.

At exactly midnight, the doors opened and everyone went inside. I started to follow them, but there was a woman standing by the door. She stopped me. "Are your parents here?" she asked.

I stood up straight, hoping that if I looked taller, I would also look older. "They are upstairs, sleeping," I told the woman.

"I'm afraid you can't come in without your parents," the woman said.

"They said I could come," I said. I know that lying is wrong, but she would not know that I was lying.

"How old are you?" the woman asked.

"Fourteen." I do not lie a lot because lying makes my cheeks turn pink. I bet my cheeks were very pink.

"What is your name?" the woman asked.

"Um…Countess Esmerelda Jalenthia von Loffenberg," I said.

The woman bent over so that she was looking right into my eyes. "Go upstairs, Countess. You're too young to be here. Don't make me call your parents."

I started to tell her that they said I could be there, but I decided that I had lied enough for one night. I rode back upstairs in the elevator and snuck into the room. I will never be old enough to do anything. I will always be seven years old.

The next morning when Daddy woke up he said, "Karen, were you walking around last night in the middle of the night?"

Elizabeth picked up the matchbook that had fallen to the floor by my bed. "Why do you have a matchbook from Lucky's?" she asked.

I tried to come up with a lie quickly. "Do you know that the Countess Esmerelda Jalenthia von Loffenberg is in Las Vegas?" I asked.


	19. Abby

_Dear Mom,_

_I am still having the best time in Las Vegas. There is so much going on. Sorry so short, but I am about to go to this awesome Elvis show. I'll tell you all about it when I get back ._

_Love, Abby._

"I still can't believe you all hated my idea," Kristy complained as we were leaving our hotel room. She still couldn't get over the fact that the rest of the BSC had refused to use our vacation to expand the BSC into a Vegas branch. As soon as Kristy had tried to bring it up the idea of sitting for kids staying at the hotel, we all saw where she was going and laughed her off.

Now, Anna, Kristy, and I were all set to leave to go see Blaine in the Elvis show and Kristy was STILL talking about it. Sometimes I think she is obsessed with baby-sitting.

I was about to tell her that, when Nannie rushed up to us in the hallway with David Michael, Karen, Andrew, and Emily Michelle, trailing behind. And when I say rushed, I really mean rushed. For a grandmother, she sure was fast.

"Kristy, I am so glad I caught you." Nannie said as she caught up to us. "I need you to watch the kids tonight. Your mother and Watson are out to dinner and I have to get back down to the casino."

"Ah….Nannie, I was going out with Abby and Anna." Kristy said quickly. "We are going to this Elvis impersonator contest."

"Yeah, Abby's new boyfriend is in it." Anna jumped in. "And we promised to go with her."

"He's not my boyfriend," I quickly put in. "But we do have to get going." I didn't want to miss Blaine's number.

"Oh you can take the children with you." Nannie was practically walking away from us as she talked. "But I can't bring them to the casino. See you later…and wish me luck"

"But why…" Nannie was gone before Kristy could even get the rest of her sentence out.

Anna and I exchanged a look. What we were saying without actually saying it was, why was it so important for Nannie to get to the Casino?

"Oh, this will be so exciting!" Karen was practically jumping up and down. "A real important Las Vegas show. Boy this will be a very important thing to talk about in Show and Tell when I get back to school. I bet not a lot of people will have seen Elvis sing on their vacation.

"Karen you are so dumb." David Michael interrupted her. "You are not really going to see Elvis, you are going to see impersonators. The real Elvis is dead."

"Well, actually…." I started to say, then froze. I couldn't go see Blaine's show with Kristy's little brothers and sisters. They were great and all, but I don't think they would make a very good impression. Plus, even though it was better than a casino, it probably wasn't the best place for little kids. I am all for educating children on the importance of The King, but it should be done in the proper environment.

I could tell Kristy was thinking the same thing. "Look, I'll stay here with the kids, you two go on to the show, " she whispered to me and Anna.

"No, we want to go!" Karen interrupted. "Please, Kristy! Please! I'll never ask for anything else on the whole trip. I want to go more than anything else in the world. Just for a little while, please!"

"No." While Kristy started arguing with her siblings, Anna and I quickly ducked away before they could see us.

"Do you feel bad about leaving Kristy like that?" Anna asked me as we walked through the lobby to where Blaine's show was.

"No, she told us to go. And they are her family. Plus, she is the one who said she missed babysitting….Anyway, I am sure she can find Mary Anne or someone to help her out."

I said hello to Mallory as we passed her in the lobby. She was sitting on a bench with some weird hat on, writing in that notebook of hers. AGAIN.

"Okay, here is the place." Anna was directing me into the small theater where the show was.

"Wait, how do I look. And do I sound ok? I took as much allergy medicine as I could handle before we left the room….I sound normal right?" I started to panic a little. I don't know what was wrong with me, I never get this worked up.

"Relax Abby, you look fine. And you sound fine." She added that second part before I could ask her again. "Now, come on, let's go in."

We dashed into the theater and found some seats just as the show was starting. I was amazed that Blaine said these were the finals cause there was a lot of people singing. I counted 5 Elvises singing "You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog," 3 singing "Love Me Tender," 4 singing "All Shook Up, and at least seven others with different songs. I was in heaven. Anna was bored out of her mind.

"Hey, Anna," I leaned over to whisper to her. "Did you notice some of the impersonators were women? Maybe I should start think about a new career goal?"

Anna just looked at me like I had lost my mind. Then she realized I was joking and we both burst into laughter. We both know I can't sing to save my life. Anna got all the musical talent in our family.

A guy sitting behind us quickly told us to quiet down. Some of the fans in the theater seemed even more fanatical then me. I hadn't even thought that was possible.

Finally, they announced Blaine's name as the last singer to perform. I made sure to pay even closer attention then I had been. After all, he was the reason we were here. I noticed Anna even started watching closer.

Well he did a great job. He sang, "Are You Lonesome Tonight," which is my personal favorite Elvis song. I took that as a sign of….well as something. I was sure that Stacey would take that as a sign of "luv" but I was not quite ready to go there. I was just going to take it as a good sign in general.

I waited nervously while the judges prepared to announce the winners. I was starting to feel like some kind of groupie. The judge called out the runners up first.

"And the 2nd runner up is….Blaine Johnson."

"Woo hoo!" I called out as everyone else applauded. Suddenly I felt a little embarrassed. I had gotten a little loud, and I was sure Blaine had looked over and saw me when I cheered like that. I didn't want him to think I was too crazy.

I barely listened to the judge announcing the rest of the winners. I was to busy deciding what I would say to Blaine when I got a chance.

"Just go up and tell him he did a great job." Anna encouraged me.

I insisted she come with me and I went and found Blaine as he was walking into the theater.

"Hey, I was going to come look for you." He told me when he saw me coming.

"Really?"

"Yeah, well I wouldn't have asked you to come if I didn't want to see you." He smiled at me from under his Elvis costume and I stopped being able to think straight. I guess now I know what Stacey and Claudia mean whenever they talk about meeting guys.

"So listen," he continued. My prize for runner up is a gift certificate for two to one of the restaurants here in the hotel. How would you like to come with me to use it?"

"Um, sure." I managed to get out.

"Great." He grinned at me. "I'll come by your hotel room tomorrow to pick you up."

Blaine had to leave after a couple minutes to go find his family, who had also been watching. Anna was just staring at me with a huge smile on her face.

"Abby, do you realize you are about to go on your first date?"

I just nodded. That was something, I had definitely just realized.


	20. Dawn

_Dear Mom and Richard,_

_Mary Anne and I are having a great time here in Vegas. We'll definitely have to come out here as a family some day—maybe when Mary Anne and I are 21! I've even made a new friend. I'll tell you about everything later._

_Love,_

_Dawn_

"We're going to the Paris for breakfast," Stacey said. "Do you want to come with us?"

I shrugged. Mary Anne, Kristy, and Abby had already gone to breakfast, and I had no idea what Jessi and Mallory were doing. I hadn't seen much of them at all during this trip. "I guess I'll go," I said. "Just give me a minute to get dressed. I'll meet you in the lobby."

I selected a navy blue fitted tee-shirt that Sunny had given me for Christmas. The words "California, Where Life is Better," were emblazoned across the chest in white letters. I paired it with a khaki cargo-type skirt and slipped into my blue flip flops. My short skirt showed off my natural tan. Unlike my friends, who had arrived here looking whiter than the ghost of Ben Brewer (a long-dead relative of Watson Brewer's whom Karen insists haunts their house) and had spent the trip acquiring their tans, my tan had been acquired over the course of several months—and it showed.

In the Paris we ate at Le Village Buffet. Stacey and Claudia each had a cheese and sausage omelet with bacon on the side, and Claudia actually got a bottle of _Coke_ to drink with it all. I chose some fruit with a side of yogurt and granola.

"You know," I said as we ate, "the bacon you're eating is full of nitrites and lots of other harmful preservatives. Not to mention, you're eating one of earth's majestic creatures."

"_Majestic creature_? Dawn, it's a pig." Claudia took a huge bite of her omelet and washed it down with a swig of Coke.

"Do you have any more protests planned?" Stacey asked.

I sighed. "Since things didn't go very well the first time, I think I'm going to give up on the protests for now. I still think what they're doing to the lions is cruel, but I don't want to get in trouble with the law." I noticed Claudia turned a little red and quickly looked down at her plate.

When Stacey and Claudia got up to go to the restroom and reapply their makeup, I cleaned our table. I jumped when somebody tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

"Sorry," said a voice, and I turned to look at its owner. It was a guy—older, about seventeen or eighteen—and hot. He was wearing a faded Greenpeace tee-shirt, cargo shorts, and Teva sandals. His blond hair was shaggy, but not stylishly so. More like he just couldn't be bothered to cut it.

"I didn't mean to scare you," the guy said, "but I overheard the conversation you were having with your friends. I'm a vegetarian, too. I'm Riv."

Riv?

I must have had a blank look on my face, because he explained: "It's short for River." He stuck out his hand to shake.

"I'm Dawn," I said, and took his hand. We smiled at each other.

"I can tell you really care about the animals," Riv said.

"Oh, more than you know. And not just the ones who are slaughtered for food. Any form of animal cruelty just makes my blood boil." I told Riv about my aborted protest. I thought he would laugh, but instead he just looked thoughtful.

"You know, Dawn, I belong to a group that works to preserve the rights of animals. We could really use someone with your passion on our team."

"Well," I said, "that's a nice offer, but I'm actually just here on vacation. I live in California." I gestured at my shirt.

"That's totally okay. We have members all over the country, all over the world, even. I actually go to college in Oregon; I'm just here with some friends for spring break. What are you, fifteen, sixteen?

I nodded. Technically, I would be fourteen next year, and that was close enough to fifteen, right? I didn't want to blow things with Riv by telling him I was only thirteen.

"I'll give you my e-mail address and the website where you can find out more information about the group I belong to. I got involved when I was in high school, first by going to protests. Now I'm working with a group at my school to put an ad in the school paper about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle." Riv handed me a piece of paper on which he'd written his name, his e-mail, his address at school, and a website 

"If you really want to make a difference, this is the way to go," he said.

"Thanks." I smiled. I'd of course heard of PETA—I'd seen their billboards on the highway, and Stacey had once told me about how they stood on New York streets and flung paint at people wearing fur coats. But I'd never before thought of joining. Now, talking to Riv, I realized that joining PETA might be the way I could really make a difference.

"I'll check this out as soon as I get home," I promised.

"Great. Look, Dawn, I have to go—the guys are waiting for me. But I hope we'll meet again. Be sure to keep in touch and let me know how you're doing." We shook hands again and River ran off to join his friends just as Claudia and Stacey returned.

"_He_ was cute," Claud remarked.

"Who _was_ he?" Stacey asked.

I grinned and began to tell my friends about my conversation with River. Even though my protest at the MGM Grand has been a failure, somehow I knew it had only been the beginning.


	21. Claudia

_I lurnt that gambuhling is very wrong. Just look at what it is dueing to Nahny._

I yawned, writing papers about lessons that I have learned is so stale. Unfortunately SMS likes to make you do things like that an awful lot. I sat there chewing on the end of my pen trying to think of what to say .I know, Ewww. Dawn would love to lecture me about bacteria counts and how I was killing small microscopic organisms with my saliva and no doubt doing irreversible environmental damage. But her new friend Riv was toasty (another word for hot). He had been staring at my lucky rabbit foot purse after breakfast. Perhaps he was jealous of it, a lot of people in Vegas seem jealous of my divine fashion sense.

We didn't have much time left in Vegas. I had nothing to show for our time there , the chaperones had even confiscated my art supplies after the little id card incident. I really shouldn't waste it sitting in the stuffy old hotel suite should I?

After I got dressed I went down to the lobby to see if I could find anyone to hang out with. Mallory was actually attempting to hide behind a potted plant. Please, I could spot her frizz and polka dotted leggings from a mile away. I had to wonder why security wasn't making a file on HER. I probably wouldn't ask them that, they hadn't been very kind when I had asked if I could make MY file look and smell nicer with the aid of scented magic markers.

Anyway I was really hoping to find someone other than Mallory to hang with, those leggings were truly sad. It was nothing like my outfit. I decided go all out. I had on my moss green one piece jumpsuit with a pair of purple suede ankle boots. Using fabric paint I had painted a large black rectangle down the center of the jumpsuit. I had cut out pieces of yellow fabric and made lines down the rectangle dividing it into lanes. Attached to the jumpsuit were small plastic airplanes going in various directions.

Get it? I was an airport runway! It really fit since we would be FLYING back home! My earrings were plastic paratroopers dangling from open parachutes. I had managed to find an orange cone like they use to direct the planes in and I had twisted my long hair into a French twist and used the handle of the cone to secure it in place.

Judging from the stares and camera flashes going off I could tell that I was a hit.

"Claudia?" a voice asked.

I turned around to find Alan Gray standing there in complete awe of my gloriousness.

I felt like a queen with all this attention. "Yes Alan?"

He cleared his throat and looked at his hightops and said very quickly "Would you like to go have a smoothie?"

Hmmm.. on one hand he was Alan Gray, the goon of SMS. On the other hand I didn't have anything to do and I would like a snack.

"If you change it to Ice Cream you have a deal" I said regally while turning slightly so the crowd could admire the lettering on the back of the jumpsuit that said "StuneyBrook Reegunal Air Port, All Abroad!".

"All Right" Alan suddenly grinned and took my arm and steered me towards the elevators so we could go up to the correct floor. "Uhm ,by the way your outfit is really nice. At least it isn't too _plane_"

I laughed politely at his joke and pressed the button to make the doors close.

As we rode up the elevator in silence I tried to reflect on my time in Vegas. Sure I hadn't won a lot of money, or any money to be more exact. I wasn't speaking to Mallory either but I am sure that we will patch things up eventually. But I had learned that I was really good at creating outfits. Perhaps I should think about becoming a fashion designer. I snuck a look over at Alan Gray. Okay so I hadn't fallen in luv this trip either but that was alright. Free Ice Cream is Free Ice Cream.

The elevator doors opened and I plastered a big smile on my face. After all, you never seem to know when someone will take your picture in Vegas.


	22. Mallory

_Dear Mrs. Kishi,_

_Vegas is still totally dibble. We're all having such a great time, especially Claudia! I hope Stoneybrook can live up to the glitz and glamour of the strip. Too bad we have to leave tomorrow.  
_

_The BSC will probably be at your house when you get this card!_

Mallory 

Obviously, I couldn't tell Mrs. Kishi what we (well, her daughter) had _really_ been up to. Besides, I don't think she'd like learning that Claudia almost got sent to jail through a postcard. Or that Jessi almost auditioned for a strip club. My notebook was getting juicy. I'd have to find a better hiding place for it at home, otherwise my pesky siblings would grow up way too fast for their own good.

I adjusted my hat and glanced down at my leggings. They were so cool. Blue with white polka dots. I found them at this vintage store in Connecticut called "Brass Plum". It was a store in Nordstroms, which I thought was really fresh. I mean, they would get so much business that way!

Speaking of business… I looked up as I heard Jayne's "friendly" voice.

"Hi, welcome to Hard Rock Hotel!"

Hah. Friendly. Sure. Let's see how friendly she is now. I got in line behind a businessman with a briefcase.

"Hi! Welcome to Hard Rock Hotel," Jayne said the businessman.

"Hi, uh. I'm checking in," he said. Then he glanced around and leaned in to whisper something to Jayne. I was writing _furiously_. This must be her connection!

"No problem, sir," she said. "We'll take care of that right away." The man smiled at her and then looked startled as a young African-American woman ("Wait, was that Jessi?" I wrote. "Oh, no, nevermind.") rushed up to him and wrapped her arms around him. They walked off together smiling and laughing. Well. That poor woman has no idea what's going to happen.

"Welcome to Hard Rock! Can I help you?" Jayne asked.

"Uh, yes. Please. I uh," I leaned in, raising my eyebrows meaningfully – "_lost my room key_."

"That's fine. What's your room number?"

I was beffudled. That was it? Why isn't she getting my meaning?

"No," I said. "I … lost. My. Key."

"That's fine? I just need your room number."

I sighed. This was going nowhere. I accepted the room key from her and then went off in search of more things to observe. Ahh. The pool.

I walked over and sat in a lounge chair, looking around to see who was around. And… Oh. Charlie Thomas? What was he doing here? He waved to me from the pool.

Come to think of it, I had seen him an _awful_ lot lately. He was always at breakfast and I would see him randomly around the different hotels. And he would always ask me questions during meals (like "Can you pass the salt?" and "What's _that_?" in response to a really gross meal I had ordered).

Could he… like me? It's not too farfetched. After all, Sam and Stacey had a thing going on for awhile.

I watched in dive into the pool and wrote in my notebook furiously:

"C.T. by the pool. Could be first real boyfriend. Will have to talk to Jessi about this later."

I stopped. First real boyfriend? What about Ben? He and I had a history. Sure, we hadn't known each other that long, but it felt like we'd known each other for years. I sat back in my chair. What do I do?


	23. Logan

Dear Dad,

Las Vegas is great! I won ten million dollars in the slot machines---just kidding. But seriously, it is pretty cool. Lots to do, lots to see, great weather. The family should come out here for a vacation sometime. Keep it in mind--you and Mom would have a blast. Gotta go--you'll probably see me before you get this card!

Later,

Logan.

I have never been much of a post-card writer, but I hadn't written to my parents at all during our stay in Vegas, so it was only fair. Besides, I needed to keep my mind occupied. If I was busy writing dumb postcards to my parents, then I wouldn't have to think about Mary Anne.

I sighed, capped my pen, and tossed the post card on the table. Maybe I wouldn't even send it. I got up from the desk and crossed the room, flopping down on my bed. This was our last night in Las Vegas, and under normal circumstances, Mary Anne and I would be spending a romantic night together under the stars. Instead, here I was, and Mary Anne was still mad at me.

Which was totally bogus. I didn't understand why she got so upset. Okay, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring Pete and Alan along to hang out--but it wasn't supposed to be an exclusive date, or anything. We were on vacation! If she was allowed to spend every waking minute with her friends, then how come she flipped out if I wanted to hang with the guys? It just didn't make sense.

I was going to drive myself crazy. Suddenly, I had an idea. If Mary Anne wanted a romantic date, just the two of us, well, then that was what she was going to get. Feeling energized, I got to my feet and began rummaging through my bags. I came up with a dark green sweater and a pair of khakis. Quickly, I changed clothes, dabbed on some cologne, and ran a comb through my hair. There. Grinning to myself, I grabbed my wallet and room key and let myself out, heading down to the hotel lobby gift shop.

"Hey, Logan!" a voice called. I turned just inside the gift shop to see Claudia and Dawn browsing. I did a slight double-take at the sight of them. Claudia was wearing this orange and green jump suit thing, and next to her, Dawn was decked out in a blue t-shirt that said, "SAVE A DEAD COW CARCASS" in huge letters. Underneath, in smaller letters, it added, "Eat a tofu-burger."

And Mary Anne got mad at me for spending time with _my _friends?

"Hey, guys," I said, forcing a smile onto my face. "What's up?"

"Last minute shopping," Claudia said with a grin. She held up a pair of sunglasses and added, "What do you think?"

The sunglasses were bright pink and looked big enough to cover about half of her face. They were decorated with orange and blue polka-dots.

"Very colorful," I said tactfully.

Claudia let out an excited squeal and hurried to the cash register to purchase the glasses. I rolled my eyes at Dawn, who responded by saying, "So when are you and Mary Anne going to make up?"

"Tonight," I responded. "I'm going to buy her a gift and take her out for dinner. Just the two of us." I grinned at Dawn triumphantly.

Dawn nodded. I reached out and picked up a small, stuffed teddy bear. "What do you think?" I asked.

Dawn's lip curled slightly, and she took a deep breath. "I detest the idea of teddy bears," she replied. "I think that they make a complete mockery of the beautiful creatures that bears are, and it sends the message that it's okay to slaughter bears, fill them with stuffing, and sell them for a profit. It's sick and twisted."

A few customers were staring at her. I raised my eyebrows, set the bear down, and held up my hands in mock surrender. "Okay, Dawn, chill," I replied, giving her a Look. "I'll just keep looking."

Ten minutes later, I was at the counter, buying a box of chocolates for Mary Anne. Dawn, at my elbow, said, "Oh, sure, she's going to thank you for giving her a million cavities. Do you know how much sugar--"

She was cut off by me. "Give it a rest, Dawn," I replied, taking my change from the cashier. Then I picked up the bag containing the chocolates and headed for the door leaving Dawn and Claudia behind. Who cared what Dawn thought? It was the thought that counted, and Mary Anne would love the gesture.

Pushing thoughts of Dawn out of my mind, I made my way to Mary Anne's floor. I hoped she was there. I made my way down the hall and took a deep breath, then stopped in front of her door. I listened for a minute, and could faintly hear the TV. I reached out and knocked on the door.

A minute later, Mary Anne pulled open the door. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Logan!" she said.

I grinned at her. "Tonight, it's you and me," I said softly, stepping closer to her and handing her the chocolates. Mary Anne looked up at me curiously.

"What do you say? Dinner and a night on the town, just Mary Anne and Logan," I went on.

She glanced down at the chocolates in her hand, then back up at me. After a minute, a smile spread across her face. As a reply, she stood on her tiptoes and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips.

All was right with the world again.


	24. Kristy

_Dear Shannon,_

_Well it is our last night here in Vegas , so I will probably see you before you get this postcard. You won't believe everything that has happened. We will have to have a BSC sleepover when we get back and tell you all about it._

_I hope you haven't had to turn down to many jobs while the rest of the club is on vacation. We wouldn't want people to start thinking the BSC is unreliable. _

_See you soon! _

_Kristy_

So here it was our last night in Las Vegas, and I was baby-sitting. I didn't want to complain about that in my letter to Shannon. It would look pretty bad if the president of the Baby-Sitters Club complained to one of its associate members (especially since Shannon was probably really busy with jobs while the rest of us where on vacation).

The problem wasn't that I had a problem watching my younger brothers and sisters. They were all great kids. But normally when I baby-sit I know I am going to ahead of time. On this vacation, I have been planning to go out and then been stopped because Nannie is running out to the casino and can't take the kids. I was getting a little worried about Nannie, but I didn't want to say anything to anyone because I didn't want to come off as complaining about baby-sitting. (The reputation of the BSC is very important to me. We are a serious business, afterall).

"Ok, so what do you guys want to do for dinner tonight?" I asked Karen, David Michael, and Andrew. (Emily Michelle was taking a nap after swimming at the pool all afternoon). "There are a lot of restuarants connected to the hotel, we have not eaten in all of them."

"I want to get room service!" Karen exclaimed.

"Yeah, great idea." Andrew chimed in.

"Room service?" I asked them. "You want to spend the last night of your vacation stuck in the hotel room? David Michael?"

"Room service could be kinda fun." He looked at me. "It would give us an excuse to eat on our beds and we never get to do that at home."

The strangest things amuse little kids.

"Okay. If you that's what you guys want. Let me just find the menu." I started digging through a stack of papers and brochures that the hotel left for us. Then I saw something that made me stop and stare.

"Kristy? Did you find the menu?" Karen was looking at me.

I quickly pushed the paper aside and pulled the menu out of the stack.

"Here you guys pick out what you want." I told her. "Let me know when you are ready to order."

Then I went back to reading the brouchure I had found. It was a pamphlet from _Gamblers Anonymous. _I was a little surprised they had it in a casino's hotel, but maybe they put it there as a disclaimer or something. On the front it listed questions so someone could tell if they were becoming a compulsive gambler. It said you should worry if you answered more than seven questions with a yes. I started to wonder how Nannie would answer them_. "After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?"_ Well, she certainly seemed to. _"Did gambling affect your reputation?"_ It was with me and the rest of my friends. _"Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?"_ I think ignoring the kids, certainly qualifies as that. Maybe I should be more worried about Nannie than I thought.

"Kristy! Kristy! Hey, Kristy!" Karen was calling me.

"What is it?" I put aside the brouchure and turned back to the kids.

"We are ready to order the food."

I went over and called in the dinner order and spent the evening making sure the kids were okay. Much later, after they were all asleep, Mom and Watson came in from the evening they had been having out at some romantic restaurant. It was probably some place where they danced the whole time and were all lovey-dovey. I don't really want to think about it. I love my mom, and am glad she is happy with Watson, but some things are best left not thought about.

"Kristy, what are you doing here?" Watson asked when he and Mom came in laughing (again, I didn't want to think about it). "I would have thought you would be spending your last night in Las Vegas off somewhere with your friends, not hanging around with your family."

"Well, Nannie asked me to watch the kids," I told him. "I think she is in the casino again."

Mom laughed. "Oh….trying to get the last fill of her slots while she is here. That's my mother for you."

"No….I think it is more serious than that." I told her. "I got the feeling that if I didn't say I would watch the kids, she would have just run off and spent the night at the slot machine anyway."

"Kristy, your grandmother would not have abandoned the children for any reason." Watson told me. "You are not suggesting that the woman has a gambling problem are you?"

I pulled the _Gamblers Anonymous_ pamphlet out from where I had stashed it earlier and showed it to them.

"Well, look at this." I told them. "Don't you think Nannie has some of the signs?"

Watson studied the list and my mother looked over his shoulder at it.

"Kristy honey," Mom said to me, "Nannie hasn't borrowed any money or had to sell things she owns to pay her debts. And we are leaving Vegas tomorrow, so she won't even have access to a casino. It is sweet of you to worry, but I don't think it is anything to be concerned about."

"Mary Anne was reading in a tour book about Connecticut that there ARE casino's there. They are on an Indian reservation so they are legal." I insisted to them. "Nannie could start going to them when we get home and after awhile she probably will be in debt."

I could tell neither of them believed me. I was about to give up (planning to call an emergency BSC meeting first thing in the morning-if no one else could help, my friends could). But then suddenly the door opened and in walked Nannie. Carrying a huge stack of chips from the casino.

"Hey, everyone are you all still up?" She asked as she walked into the room.

"We've just been talking, Mother. I see you had a big night." My mom said to her eyeing the stack of chips.

"Well, the nights young Elizabeth." Nannie said to her. I just came up to refuel.

"Don't you think you should call it a night? We have to leave for the airport early tomorrow." My mother was actually starting to look concerned.

"Oh, nonsense. The night is young and I am on a roll. And I have to maximize on the casino time I can get in while I am here."

Watson stepped into the conversation. "Don't you think it might be a good idea to ease out of the gambling."

"Oh, don't lecture me. We're not all millionaires you know, some of us have to gamble if we have any hopes of getting rich."

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I always knew my family was complicated but we never had many fights. Nannie left the room as quickly as she had entered calling out for us to wish her luck.

I just gave Mom and Watson a look, as though to say, "NOW do you believe me."

Watson sort of nodded back at me. "Let's take a look at that _"Gamblers Anonymous"_ pamphlet again Kristy. See if they have any meeting places near Stoneybook."


	25. Jessi

_Dear Quint,_

_Vegas has been amazing. This postcard_

_is of the Luxor resort, which is where I did_

_something really dibble, really fresh, and _

_possibly really stupid all at once. I think I_

_feel good about it now, but I'm still not _

_sure. Confused? I'll fill you in next time _

_we talk on the phone._

_Yours til the_

_banana splits,_

_Jessi_

On the last day of our Vegas trip, I did it.

I auditioned for Cirque du Soleil. But this time, it was for real.

I had spent that week in the hotel gym, stretching and working out and doing whatever else I could think of. I even bought a new leotard for the occassion. When I'm in Mme. Noelle's class, we have a strict dress code: black leotard and pink tights. But when I'm dancing on my own, I love having colors to choose from. My new leotard was hot pink, and I got polka dotted tights to go with it. Claudia complimented me on my outfit which showed me immediately that I made a great choice.

The auditions were at 10 in the morning, so we had planned to go _en masse_ to them after breakfast. All of my friends were supporting me. However, not all of them were going. Stacey wanted to stay behind because it was her last day to see Taylor. I totally understood that and wasn't upset with her at all.

I could barely eat a thing that morning. Dawn kept telling me about how much it would help me to eat something, and I agreed with her, but I was still too nervous to eat.

So after breakfast (I finally finished a slice of cantelope and drank some grapefruit juice), I ran back up to our hotel room with Mary Anne and Mallory and changed into my leotard. Mallory pulled out her tote bag and put her notebook in it. I just sighed. At least she was going to go with me.

When we stepped off the elevator in the lobby, where everyone else was waiting for us, Claudia led everyone in a round of applause.

"You guys! You're gonna make me nervous!" I exclaimed.

I hugged them all and then we headed outside and made our way down the Las Vegas strip. The auditions were being held in a ballroom (doesn't that sound glamorous?) at the Luxor. Mary Anne filled us all in on the Luxor as we walked towards it.

"It's the biggest hotel in Las Vegas, and it's shaped like a pyramid," she explained. "The walls in the rooms in the main building are actually slanted."

"That sounds so cool!" Kristy exclaimed.

"Too bad we couldn't have stayed there, that would have been so dibble," Mallory added.

"I stayed there once when my parents brought me and Jeff here. It's nothing that special," Dawn informed us. It was really great having someone in our group who could give us an insiders perspective on the city, even though she didn't always seem to like Vegas all that much.

"The elevators, which are actually called inclinators, also travel at the angle. We can go explore the place and ride them if we can't go in with Jessi," Mary Anne said.

I would have loved to check out the place, it sounded really neat. The whole hotel, Mary Anne told us, had an Egyptian theme. Being African-American, I thought it would be fun to check out one based on my heritage. But, of course, the auditions were the most important thing right now.

We all _oohed_ and _ahhed_ over the lobby when we walked in. It really looks like you're in a pyramid, and the lobby is open, so if you look up, you see all the halls where the rooms are. Very chic.

"Excuse me, miss?" a woman asked Claudia.

"Yes?" she answered.

"How do I get to the gift shops?" the woman asked.

"Uh… I'm not really sure. I've never even been here before," Claudia responded. The woman looked confused and walked away.

"What was her problem?" Claudia asked.

"I think she thinks you work here, Claud," Kristy explained. I could see how someone could make that mistake. In honor of going to the Luxor, Claudia was wearing an outfit made entirely of this fabric that had hieroglyphics on them. Hieroglyphics, by the way, are the way the ancient Egyptians would write and communicate, they would draw pictures instead of writing things out. Claudia had on a dress made of this tan fabric that had a hieroglyphic print all over it. She also had her hair in pigtails that were tied with scrunchies made of the same fabric. Her shoes were just plain white ballet flats that she painted hieroglyphics on, and her earrings were even little Egyptian people like you'd see in the hieroglyphics. I don't know how she pulls off all these great looks. I'd look crazy in something like that, but she looks incredibly sophisticated.

"Here it is!" Abby exclaimed. "Ballroom A!"

There was a sign posted on the door that announced the Cirque auditions being held inside. Another sign said NO VISITORS.

"Sorry, Jessi," Mary Anne said, "I wish we could go in with you."

I gulped. I was really starting to feel nervous. I had counted on having some support while I was in the auditions, but now it looked like I'd be all by myself.

The girls all wrapped me in a big group hug and then waved, shouted "break a leg!" and walked away.

Shakily, I opened the door and revealed a huge empty room that looked _nothing_ like a ballroom. It was just a big room. No crystal chandeliers or anything like that. All over the floor was men, women, and lots of teenagers and even some kids younger than me all stretching and warming up.

"Are you audizeeoneeng?" a French voice asked me. I turned to the side and saw a table where a young woman was sitting with a sign-in sheet.

"Uh… yeah. I mean, yes!" I said, trying to sound grown-up.

"All right zhen, jost sign in here," she told me, "and zhen take zees number and peen it on your leotard. Zhey'll call you shortly." (In case you're wondering, what she said was "then take this number and pin it on your leotard and that they will call me shortly. She had a very thick French accent, just like Mme. Noelle)

I pinned a piece of paper with the number 1622 on it to my leotard, then tracked down an empty spot and started some stretching. While I was doing this, I also checked out my competition. These people were amazingly talented! There were kids there who looked about Becca's age who were stretching so flexibly as though they had no bones in their body. And these were the people I was competing with?

After what seemed like _ages_, my number was called. I took a few deep breaths and walked over to the other side of the room to a small curtained-off area. There was a small wooden dance floor set up, and then there was a table where two men and a woman were both sitting with clipboards in their hands.

"Jesseeca Romsey?" one of the men said.

"That's me!" I replied, a little over-excited. I giggled. They all giggled right along with me.

"Jost reelax," the woman told me (she was really saying "just relax"). "When you are ready, we would like to see you perform a few moves, then we will play some music for you to do an impromptu routine to."

They called out about ten different moves to me, all some basic stretches that showed off my strength and flexibility. Then they played a cd of the main theme to their show (which I knew from my copy of the soundtrack) and I winged it and came up with what I felt was a great routine.

"Very nice, Miss Ramsey," one of the men (he was American and didn't have an accent) told me, "We'd like to see you for callbacks. Just go wait back in the ballroom and we should call you in again soon once we've finished with the last few initial auditions."

"Wow, thank you!" I exclaimed.

"Excellent job," the French woman told me.

I walked back out into the ballroom in a giddy daze. Callbacks for Cirque du Soleil. I couldn't believe it.

Then it hit me. What if I actually got in Cirque du Soleil? I would live here in Las Vegas and everything. I overheard some of the kids and teenagers saying that they have housing for the minors who are in the production, almost like you would see at a boarding school.

Could I really live in Las Vegas? Sure, it was great here. The city was really exciting, and being in Cirque would be the chance of a lifetime. Who knew if I would ever have this opportunity again?

On the other hand, I have a great life already, back in Stoneybrook. I love my family, I have the best friends anyone could ask for, and I've got my baby-sitting. Maybe I could baby-sit for some of the kids in Cirque.

But I knew that wouldn't be the same thing. The kids there seemed great, but no one can compare to Matt and Haley Braddock, the Arnold twins, Jamie and Lucy Newton, the Pike kids, and all those other great kids I sit for. How could I leave that all behind?

I spent the hour going over a list of pros and cons in my head of being in Cirque du Soleil and by the time my name was called, I had made my decision.

"All right, Miss Ramsey," the American man started, "We're going to play a different selection this time and-"

"Wait. Before you go any further, I have to say something," I told him.

"Um… all right…" he said, seeming caught off-guard.

"I love dancing. I love it more than anything and I know I want to dance professionally someday. But I don't think that day is today. I have a great life back in Connecticut and I don't think I'm ready to leave that behind. Maybe someday I'll become a member of the Cirque du Soleil cast, but for now, I'd rather stick with being a member of the Baby-Sitters Club." I told them, reciting the speech I had written in my head just before coming back here.

They all smiled at me. I thanked them, and headed out as they all kept smiling and looking at each other. They seemed proud of me for speaking my mind.

Of course, my friends all understood, and told me how they'd have missed me too much if I got in and stayed in Vegas. Kristy told me that there was no way the club could continue without me. We all went out for a celebratory lunch at a café at the Luxor, then rode the inclinators up and down a few times, and I felt incredibly great about the decision I had made.

That night, when I climbed into bed, I found a piece of paper under my pillow. I pulled it out and saw that it was ripped from Mallory's notebook. It was a drawing of a mouse wearing a tutu and a ribbon in her hair. The mouse was dancing in the Cirque du Soleil tent to a packed house. Just below it, she had written: _Congratulations! You're always a star! Love, Mallory_

See what a great life I was saying I had? I could never give up any of it.


	26. Charlie

_Yo, Luke._

_Las Vegas is fully sick. Like, the good way. I've mostly been looking for hot chicks, sometimes Sam comes with me. My family is nuts though. Especially Kristy's friends. Man. Thirteen year old girls are just too much._

_Anyway. Later. _

_C._

Yeah, yeah, so I was a little late in sending Luke a postcard. Whatever, he could deal with it, I think. I stamped the envelope and dropped it into a mail box in the lobby of the hotel, and then headed over to the restaurant for lunch. Since it was our last day in Vegas, Watson had insisted that we all have lunch together. I checked my watch. Okay, so I was a little late.

When I finally made it through the throngs of people that were on the casino floor, I saw that the only seats available were between that dorky girl, Mallory and Claudia Kishi. Who was apparently wearing one of King Tut's old outfits. I wondered if their rooms had mirrors or if she just wanted to look that way.

I sat down as Watson gave me a berating look. I shrugged back at him. Whatever with this family stuff, in my opinion. I glanced over the menu and then told the waitress (who was totally hot, by the way) my order – the triple decker hamburger with extra fries.

"Think that's enough food, Charlie?" asked Kristy sarcastically.

I leaned back in my chair and stretched my arms over my head. "What can I say?" I asked. "I'm a growing boy." I looked at Mallory and winked. She blushed and then started scribbling something down in that notebook of hers.

"Actually," began Dawn.

"Oh, great," I interrupted. "The tofu-burger is talking."  
She bristled. "WELL, Charlie, in case you didn't REALIZE you're eatin-"

Thankfully, Watson stood up and tapped on his water glass, interrupting her again.

"I'd like to propose a toast," he said "to the wonderful group of kids we have on this trip. And to the wonderful family we have."

I rolled my eyes. Was he kidding? The Baby Sitting Corp or whatever they were called were all ridiculous. Claudia looked like she was at a Halloween party, Mary Anne kept holding Logan's hand and smiling ('Boy is totally whipped,' I thought), Mallory and Jessi are eleven, Dawn is a walking protest sign, Stacey is an eight-grade hormone, and Abby is just… I paused and looked around. Where _was_ Abby? Everyone keeps forgetting about her.

"I just wanted to thank the Baby Sitters Club for all the hard work they've done on the trip, helping take care of the kids, even on such _short notice_." Watson emphasized those last two words and looked at Nannie. Smooth, Watson.

His speech was interrupted by the food, thank goodness. I dug into my food, listening to all the chatter around me.

"And then, he took me on a gondola ride. Tyler is SOOO sweet, I just can't believe I had to fall in LUV on another school trip."

"I can't believe he's eating that hamburger. Look at it. That's like, three cows in one. Kristy, you should really introduce your family to Boca Burgers. They're low fat, low carb and best of all – they don't KILL ANIMALS."

"Cirque de Soliel. Sigh. It's my dream, but the BSC is more important to me."

"Hey, Mallory," I said. "Can you pass me the salt?"

Her face turned the colour of her hair and she mumbled something about Australians and chucking tantys.

"Uh. Okay. Dawn? Can you pass me the s- "

She looked at me coolly. "I don't pass things to animal killers."

Right. Finally, Mary Anne took pity on me and leaned over the table to pass me the salt.

What a bunch of freaks these girls all were. I can't believe I have to sit with them on an eight-hour flight back to Connecticut. And I didn't even meet a hot chick while I was here.

We all finished lunch and then started to split off. I was headed over to the pool (maybe I'd get lucky in my last few hours in Vegas) when Mallory stopped me.

"Hitherecharlie," she mumbled, very fast.

"Uh. Hi?" What was going on? She never talked to me in the past.

"Ijustwantedtosaythateventhoughiknowyoulikemeihaveaboyfriendbackhomeandidontthinkhe'dlikethisverymuchkthnxbye," she said in a rush, then raced off.

I stared after her. What was she talking about? Why does Kristy hang out with people like this? I made a mental note to talk to my younger sister as soon as we got home and then continued on my way to the pool. I needed people my age.


	27. Stacey

_Dear Char,_

_Today's my last day in Las Vegas! I've_

_had lots of fun here but it'll also be fun to _

_get back to Stoneybrook and sit for you_

_again! Vegas is a really exciting city and_

_I've met some really fantasic people here._

_I might be bringing you back a surprise!_

_Your almost-sister,_

_Stacey_

Well, of course I couldn't tell Charlotte _everything_ that's been going on here. She's very mature for her age but there's some things she just wasn't meant to know.

I couldn't imagine saying goodbye to Taylor. I have never felt this way about a boy. Not Scott, Toby, Pierre, Sam, Wes, Robert, or Ethan have ever made me feel the way I do about Taylor. He was incredible.

We planned to spend our entire last day together. Our flight was early the next day, so there wouldn't be any time for us to say goodbye before I went to the airport.

I went into the lobby after breakfast and took a seat. I had about half an hour until Taylor was going to meet me so I pulled out some postcards I had bought and prepared to write them out. As I looked up from the one I was writing to my mom, I noticed Mallory sitting on the other couch across from me. She was _still _writing in that notebook. I couldn't believe she had spent our whole trip doing that. I mean, Las Vegas wasn't nearly as exciting as New York City, but there's still a lot more to it than writing in a notebook in the hotel lobby.

Still, I felt bad. Claudia and I hadn't been that nice to Mallory during our trip here. It seems like everytime the BSC goes somewhere on vacation, a few of us end up fighting. But we always manage to make up before we go back home. I couldn't let this trip be any different. Plus, she's only eleven. It's not like she can really help the way she is. I know what it was like to be eleven. We've all been there.

I put my postcards back in my purse and moved over to the couch next to her. She quickly closed the notebook and smiled at me.

"I can not believe I have to say goodbye to Taylor today," I started. Sometimes it's best to just jump right into a conversation and act like nothing's even wrong. Bringing everything back to normal is always the best way to treat these things.

"Are you sad?" she asked.

"Mal, I swear, this guy is so different from any of the other guys I've ever met," I told her.

She smiled. "I feel that same way about Ben," she said, "I really miss him."

"So are you writing a new story?" I asked. Mallory _loves_ to talk about her stories, so I figured that's what she'd been doing. She always comes up with these great ideas about having kittens or ponies or something going to whatever city we're in.

"No… I've just been… writing a lot of letters. To Ben." She answered quickly.

"Oh," I responded, not really knowing what else to say. I knew she wasn't writing all these letters to Ben, but I didn't want to press the issue any further. Plus, I saw Taylor walking across the lobby. He was with a red-headed woman who looked about ten years older than him.

"Hey, Stacey!" he exclaimed as he hugged me.

"Hi!" I exclaimed right back. "Oh, Taylor, this is my friend Mallory, from the club I was telling you about. Mallory, this is Taylor." I added, introducing the both of them. Mallory looked a little nervous, but she shook his hand and smiled.

"Please to meet you, Mallory. Stacey's been telling me a lot about you guys. Your club sounds like lots of fun," he said as they shook hands.

"Yeah, it's really great," she said quietly.

"Oh, gosh, I feel stupid! Stacey, this is my sister Jayne. Remember, I said practically my whole family works here? She works at the front desk." He said, gesturing to the woman next to him. She was… well, there wasn't anything remarkable I could say. You could tell she had glam potential if she would only just try. Her red hair was tied back in a sloppy ponytail with a boring rubber band, and she was just wearing old jeans and a t-shirt. But at least she seemed very friendly.

"Taylor's been talking about you like crazy," she told me. I blushed, and so did he.

"Jayne!" he exclaimed, playfully punching her in the arm.

"Ok, kids, I gotta get to work. The supply company that does all our office equipment is taking forever with our shipments, so I've got to go call them and yell at them a few more times," she explained. "See you guys later. Taylor, just give me or dad a call when you need a ride back home," she added.

We both waved goodbye to her, and I turned around to see Mallory sitting back on the couch feverishly writing something in her notebook. Maybe she'd gotten a new story idea. Or maybe she was really writing to Ben.

We said goodbye to her and Taylor led me outside.

"Your chariot awaits, Madam," Taylor told me as he gestured to a white van parked in the _porte cochere_ (Taylor had explained to me that a _porte cochere_ was the covered driveway area at the front of a hotel. I didn't know about them because the hotels in New York don't have them because nobody drives in NYC).

"Where on earth are we going?" I asked him. He hadn't told me a thing about today, he told me it was going to be a surprise.

"You'll see," he said with a smile. The driver, who had been standing outside the van, opened the door and put a stepstool down for us. Taylor took my hand as I went up the stepstool and sat down. He sat beside me, never letting go of my hand.

"Thanks for doing this, Ray," he said as the driver got back in.

"No problem," he answered. He started up the van and we drove down the strip.

"My dad knows _everyone_ at this hotel. I asked him for some help, and he set me up with all this," Taylor explained.

"So where are we going?" I asked again.

"When we get there, you'll know," he responded with a mischievious grin.

We drove completely out of the city. The neon lights and giant hotels of Las Vegas gave way to the desert. At first, we were seeing houses (he showed me the area where his house was) and other typical suburban sights, kind of like when you're driving out of New York City and into Connecticut. But instead of seeing forests and green lawns, we saw nothing but desert. I couldn't imagine where we were going, there was nothing around at all.

We spent the time in the van talking about everything. For the most part, we talked about our diabetes. Taylor had been diagnosed when he was eleven, so he'd had it for a lot longer than I had. We both told each other how we had never met anyone else with diabetes, and we talked about how stale it was to always have a Diet Coke when everyone else was enjoying ice cream and other treats.

"Here we are!" Ray, the driver, announced.

"But there's nothing here!" I exclaimed. I wasn't exaggerating. We were in the middle of the desert. I started to feel scared. This was sounding like all those stories you read in Reader's Digest, where the oblivious girl drives off into the desert with her boyfriend and then he… well, I don't even want to think about that part.

"Turn around," Taylor told me as I stepped out of the van. I turned from my view of the vast desert expecting to see the same thing again. But, boy, was I ever shocked. When I turned around, stretching out before me along the roadside was a river set way down in a canyon, and at the end of it where we were was the Hoover Dam.

"Wow…" I said breathily.

"Told you there's more to Vegas than just neon lights and slot machines," Taylor told me as he took my hand. I looked at him and noticed a picnic basket in his other hand.

Ray just smiled at us as he reclined the drivers seat back and pulled out a newspaper. I waved and smiled back as Taylor led me down the road that stretched over top of the dam.

We spent almost an hour walking around everywhere, taking in the incredible views. I know that I'm always saying how great New York City is, but there's some things that just don't even compare to the city, and this was one of them. No matter how long you spent in New York and how many places you go there, you'll never see anything like this. The river crashing into rocks below us, the deer walking along the edge of it, the birds swooping through the air. I may be a city girl at heart, but I was perfectly content here as well.

"Ready for lunch?" Taylor asked me.

"Starving," I replied.

We walked together to a grassy area with picnic tables scattered about. He spread out a tablecloth over the table and began pulling out the food. Of course, he had packed all the food, and it was all diabetic-friendly.

We each had a turkey sandwich piled high with thin deli-sliced turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. There was a big Tupperware bowl filled with a delicious bow-tie pasta salad, and he had a jug of sugar-free lemonade. We also had a veggie tray with carrot and celery sticks, and he had even made a pan of sugar-free brownies for dessert.

"I can't believe you have to leave tomorrow," Taylor said as he started slicing the brownies after we'd eaten our lunch.

"I don't even want to think about it. I've never met a guy like you," I told him.

"No one here understands what it's like to go through all of this. It's been amazing knowing someone also going through it," he explained.

"I know! I mean, my friends understand and they're great and all, but it's still so weird having that special slice of cake at a party, or having a Diet Coke when we're at the ice cream shop. I wish there was someone like you in Stoneybrook,"

"And I wish there was someone like you in Las Vegas," he said, handing me a brownie.

We finished our picnic and walked around the dam some more. We got one of the tourists to take a picture of the two of us together, then we each took an individual picture. I took one of Taylor on my camera, and he took one of me on his camera.

We both fell asleep resting our heads on each other on the van ride back to the hotel. By the time we got back, the sun was beginning to set. Jayne was sitting in the lobby, finished with work, and seeming to be waiting for Taylor.

"I guess this is it," he sadly noted.

"Let's just make it quick," I said, trying not to start crying. We hugged each other tightly then slowly pulled apart and kissed.

"You're an incredible girl, Stacey McGill," Taylor told me. He took my hand and lightly kissed it, then walked away.

"And you're an incredible guy, Stewart Taylor," I whispered sadly.


	28. Mary Anne

_Dear Tigger,_

_Meow meow! I miss you so much! Do you miss me? I hope that Dad and Sharon are being good to you. I will be home soon, Tiggy! Probably before you get this postcard! Dawn sends her love (well, she didn't say that she sends her love, but I'm sure that she does). Meow!_

_Love, Mary Anne_

Our last day in Vegas! I've already cried three times this morning. It will be so sad to leave. We've had a wonderful time. Logan and I have sure had our difficult moments, though.

Today we planned to spend our last afternoon in Vegas doing some last-minute shopping and sightseeing. I couldn't wait! Vegas could be such a romantic city. I know that's hard to believe, because it can also be a hectic and overwhelming city, but it definitely has its good points, and when I was with Logan, it was romantic.

We had planned to meet in the lobby of the Bellagio, which was one of the few hotels that we hadn't really explored yet. According to one of my guidebooks, it's the most expensive hotel in Las Vegas, and also one of the biggest, with 3,025 rooms! The book said that the hotel is the "definition of luxury." Well, we couldn't miss that! And I was so glad that Logan agreed to go with me, because when I started reading about all of the Bellagio's amenities to Kristy, she just rolled her eyes and mumbled something about keeping an eye on Nannie. (Nannie? Shouldn't she be watching the kids? Maybe Kristy had had another one of her Great Ideas, and was going to expand the BSC to start taking care of grandparents.)

I arrived at the hotel a little bit earlier than Logan and I had planned, so I could sit in the lobby and soak up some of the atmosphere while I wrote my final postcards. The Bellagio really did live up to its expectations. There was a huge, beautiful water feature outside with water jets that moved and sprayed along with music. (See? Romantic!) The lobby was massive and extravagantly decorated. I found a nice seat with a good view of the casino entryway so I could do a bit of people watching while I waited. I love people watching, though not as much as Mallory seems to.

I had been sitting there for about 15 minutes when I spotted Alan Gray. Ugh. I really didn't want him hanging around with Logan and me during our last day in Vegas. My first instinct was to hide, but I was sitting on of those round hotel lobby seats, and I would have felt kind of silly scooting around and around as he walked by. So I just looked down, pretending to be engrossed in my postcard-writing.

"Hey, Mary Anne." I looked up, and there he was. Sigh. I kind of wanted to tell him to leave, but I didn't want to be rude. "What's up?" I asked tentatively. He sat down next to me. "I'm here to...hey, what are you doing? Writing postcards? Are you aware that we're going home tomorrow?" I blushed. I'm always doing that. He looked over my shoulder. "You're writing to your CAT? Bwa! What a feeb! Meow!" Now _this_ was the Alan Gray I was used to. "What do you want, Alan?" I asked him, glaring. He brought his laugh down to a snicker and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Sorry," he said. "Hey, isn't that..." he looked across the lobby and pointed.

There was Logan. I waved, but he was pretty far across the room so he didn't see me. But he _did_ see the pretty blonde woman in the tight dress that came right up to him and kissed him! My jaw dropped. "What? What's wrong?" Alan asked. I pointed to Logan and Alan followed my shaking finger with his eyes. "Logan's kissing that girl!" I cried. "Oh. Whoa..." he said softly. Logan and the girl kissed again. What was he doing? He knew that he was supposed to meet me here. Was he hoping that I would see him here with this person? Was he trying to get back at me for being mad at him all week? Well, if I wasn't mad then, I was certainly mad now!

"Hey Mary Anne, are you okay?" Alan tentatively put his hand on my shoulder. I asked Alan if Logan had said anything to him about another girl, or getting revenge on me. "No, not at all. Logan's usually pretty cool. I wouldn't expect him to do anything like this! Now I think he's a loser." I smiled in spite of myself. "Thanks, Alan." He started hamming it up, trying to cheer me up. "Yeah, a total loser. A feeb. You can do better than him. Seriously, look at that shirt. Who wears a shirt like that? That shirt is ug-lee. It's fugly. It is a Shirt of Fug. And that accent? Who talks like that? I bet it's fake." I started to laugh. "Stop it," I chuckled and sniffled. "I'm supposed to be upset, Alan, stop making me laugh!" I did feel better, though. "Thanks for being here," I told him gratefully.

I looked over toward the casino. Logan and the girl were still there, arms around each other, watching an old lady play the slot machine. Something inside me snapped. Why was I just sitting here? I was _angry_. I couldn't believe that Logan would do this to me. I was angry and humiliated, and I was not just going to sit there and take it. I got up and stormed across the lobby toward Logan and the girl. I was so upset that I wasn't even embarrassed about making a scene. "How could you do this to me, after all we've been through? In front of everybody? I thought we had made up and then you show up with this girl? Where we're supposed to meet?!? So you know I'll see you?" I started shouting. "Well, we are definitely over, now! And you've ruined Las Vegas for me! I hope you're happy! You're a horrible person...and...and...your shirt is...fugly!" He finally turned around at my last remark, and I found myself face to face with..._Cam Geary? _I nearly fainted. "Excuse me? What did you say about my shirt?" he asked, looking a little angry and confused. The blonde in the tight dress tossed her hair and looked me up and down. "So who is this one, _Cam?"_ she asked him pointedly. I stood there, speechless.

Logan (the _real_ Logan) came across the lobby at that point and put his arm around me. "Hey, Mary Anne, sorry I'm a little late," he said, kissing me on the cheek. "Who are you talking...hey, you're Cam Geary! My girlfriend here is a big fan of yours! Did you get his autograph, Mary Anne?" I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. "You better keep a little better leash on your girlfriend, there, dude," Cam said coolly, adjusting the collar of his shirt. He turned on his heel and went to chase after the blonde, who had stalked off.

"What was _that _about?" Logan asked, confused. Alan Gray came over at that point, laughing and laughing. "Ha! That was priceless! You just told off Cam Geary! The movie star! That was awesome!" He had tears rolling down his cheeks. I gasped. "Alan! Did you...did you _know_ that wasn't Logan? Did you know that was Cam Geary?!? And you didn't _tell_ me?" He nodded helplessly. "I don't think you were going to go over there and, you know, insult his shirt and stuff. I was just having some fun with you. I actually came here this afternoon to let you know that Logan would be late, and Cam Geary showed up and you thought..." he dissolved into giggles again. "Alan Gray, you are the most obnoxious jerk ever to darken the halls of Stoneybrook Middle School!" I snarled at him. He was doubled over, cackling, tears rolling down his cheeks. I looked at Logan, who was trying to hide a smile, too. "Logan!" I cried. "Well, Mary Anne, come on. It is kind of funny, when you think about it. I mean, you love Cam Geary, and now you've yelled at him in public and possibly made his girlfriend dump him." He began to laugh, and so did I, in spite of myself. I had made a big fool of myself, but happily, Logan was still a good guy, and he made me feel better about my silliness. "I'm flattered that you see such a resemblance between us, though," he said to me, smiling. I smiled back. "I don't see any resemblance anymore," I said, putting my arms around his neck. "You're much better and nicer...and I love your shirt." He gave me a quick kiss. "Now let's forget about all this and spend our last day in Vegas together," he said. I nodded. Vegas really is an amazingly romantic city.


	29. Abby

_Dear Mom,_

_I don't know why I'm sending this postcard, we fly back_

_home tomorrow morning! But all the other BSC members_

_have been sending postcards today, so, as they say, when _

_in Rome… or maybe it should be, when in Vegas! I miss_

_you and I'll see you soon, before you even get this!_

_Love,_

_Abby_

Ok, so, I left out a few things in that postcard to my mom. Namely, my date with Blaine. I don't know why I couldn't mention it to her, but it just felt weird. I'm sure I'll tell her about it, but it didn't feel like something to go in a postcard.

I dropped the postcard off in the mailbox and headed back up to my room. Kristy was off somewhere with her family, but Anna was in there, along with Claudia. Stacey had planned on seeing me off on the date (and giving me advice) but she was still off with that guy.

"Abby, don't take this personally, but your clothes are awful," Claudia told me as I entered the room.

"You're wearing a sarcophogus, you have no room to talk!" I told her, laughing. She just looked confused.

"Anyway, you can not wear athletic clothes on your date. Nothing with numbers on it. Unless it's a cool number," she informed me. I didn't even bother trying to figure out what a _cool_ number was. I will never understand fashion.

"What about Anna's clothes?" I asked.

"I brought all casual stuff, you need something better for a date," Anna said.

"But you're in luck," Claudia added. "You're about the same size as both me and Stacey, and I brought over some of our stuff."

"Lucky me," I quietly sighed as I flopped down on the bed.

"Ok, this is Stacey's denim skirt. It's perfect. It's casual yet dressy, and it still fits your personality so you won't look weird or anything," she said, tossing it on my lap.

"Isn't this a little short?" I asked as I stood up and held it up on me.

"It's _in_," she informed me.

"All right, so, what should I wear with it?"

After about an hour of going through every top that Claudia and Stacey owned, as well as trying on a couple of Mary Anne's, I finally settled on a sleeveless sweater that belonged to Claudia. It was a deep plum color and had a high neck on it that was made very loose so that it flopped down. The sweater itself was made of a soft fabric that Claudia swore was cashmere, but I know enough about clothing to know that you can't afford cashmere on a baby-sitters salary.

We tried pulling my hair back into a few different styles, but none of them worked, so I just left it in the curly mess it's always in. I borrowed a pair of clip-on silver earrings from Mary Anne, and a few of Stacey's silver bangle bracelets. To finish off the outfit, I wore a pair of Claudia's plain black sandals. I was shocked by the tameness of the items I borrowed from Claudia, but she just explained to me that an artist always has to start with a blank canvas.

Blaine told me to meet him in the lobby at seven o'clock. In my nervousness, I left the room way too early and ended up sitting on a couch at 6:40.

I tried just sitting there calmly waiting, but that only lasted about thirty seconds. I picked up a Las Vegas tourism magazine (Mary Anne would have been so proud) off of the table next to me and began absent-mindedly flipping through it.

About halfway through an article on how to win big at the slots, Blaine walked in. He looked great. I'd been so used to seeing Blaine-as-Elvis that I never really noticed how cute _Blaine_ was. He was wearing a blue collared shirt and a pair of khakis, and his hair was loose and kind of messy-looking, but in a cute way (does that sound weird?). Anyway, as I'm sure Stacey would say, he looked fab!

The restaurant we were eating in was very fancy. It was called Nobu and it specialized in Japanese food, especially sushi. I would love to try sushi sometime, I think it sounds just weird enough to be delicious, but I'm allergic to seafood, so I stuck with teriyaki chicken and fried rice. Blaine, however, could order whatever he wanted and he got a few different varieties of sushi.

"Do you know how to use chopsticks?" Blaine asked me as I picked up my fork when our food came. I looked up at him and noticed he had a sushi roll expertly perched in a pair of chopsticks.

"I've tried, but all I can ever get is a grain of rice. We'll be here all night if I have to use chopsticks," I explained to him with a laugh.

"Oh, come on, they're not that hard," he reassured me. He put down his sushi roll and walked around to my side of the table. His fingers became intertwined with mine as he showed me the exact way to hold the chopsticks. As he sat back down, I made my first attempt at picking up one of the pieces of chicken and… success!

"My whole family has tried to teach me how to use them and I've never been able to. You're amazing," I exclaimed.

"Thank you," he replied. "Thank you very much!"

I giggled. It was funny, but, up until that moment, I hadn't even remembered the Elvis thing with him. I was just having fun being on a date with a boy. As a kid, I had always wanted to go on a date with Elvis (I even kissed his poster). Now, I was pretty much on a date with him, only not. And I was enjoying it so much!

We talked throughout our whole meal, with some silences as we listened to the pianist playing old Sinatra tunes. Just after we ordered dessert, Blaine got up to go to the restroom. I sat quietly and reflected on how great the evening was going.

"This next song is going out to the greatest girl I've ever met," a voice said from over by the pianist. I looked over and saw Blaine standing by the grand piano. The pianist had a smile on his face as he began playing _Are You Lonesome Tonight?_, which is my all-time favorite Elvis song.

Without even the use of a microphone, Blaine sang the entire song to me pitch-perfect. It felt like no one was even there but the two of us (ok, and the guy playing the piano). It was, without a doubt, the best date I've ever been on. All right, it was the _only_ date I'd ever been on, but I was sure, compared to any others I was going to go on in life, this would be up there.

After we finished dessert, he took my hand and we walked around the hotel until it was time for me to get up to my room. Our flight back was early the next morning, and I knew I needed some sleep. He walked me to my room and, as my hand was on the doorknob (I was trying to make it quick, I didn't want an emotional goodbye), he took my hand and pulled my chin towards him, and kissed me, for what was my very first kiss.

"I'll miss you," he whispered.

Before I could say anything in response, he kissed my hand, and then turned and walked back down the hall.

For a moment, I was frozen, my hand still outstretched towards where his had been holding it. I finally regained my senses and slipped my key in the door. Anna and Kristy were both in there, packing and watching tv. They both looked at me excitedly as I closed the door and leaned up against it.

"I just got kissed by Elvis!" I exclaimed.


	30. Epilogue Mallory

_Dear Manager of the Hard Rock Hotel Casino,_

_My name is Mallory Pike and I recently stayed at your_

_hotel on a trip with my school, Stoneybrook Middle School. Do_

_you remember us? I wanted to write you and let you know what_

_a great hotel you have. I have never stayed somewhere so nice._

_I have seven siblings, so we don't normally get to go on fancy_

_vacations (except for once when we went on a cruise and to _

_Disney World, and our yearly trips to Sea City). I spent a lot of_

_time hanging out in the lobby, and it is very pretty. I hope to_

_visit your hotel again someday – maybe I will write a book about_

_it (I'm a writer)._

_Sincerely,_

_Mallory Pike (age 11)_

_P.S. You should get real keys for the doors instead of those card_

_ones. I lost mine twice during my trip. If it was a key, I could put _

_it on a keyring and I wouldn't have to worry about losing it._

_P.P.S. You have some great employees at the front desk, especially_

_Jayne. You should pay more attention to what they do at the desk_

_and how good she is._

_Dear Abby (ha ha),_

_I'll have a blue Christmas without you…_

_Wait, you're Jewish, right?_

_I still miss you._

_Yours,_

_Blaine_

_Dear Taylor,_

_We've got our April Showers Dance coming up_

_here at school. Think you could fly out here for it? If _

_not, the May Flowers one is only a few weeks after!_

_Luv,_

_Stacey_

_Dear Cirque du Soleil,_

_I auditioned for your show in Las Vegas and_

_Even got called back, but I am too young to move _

_That far away from my family. Are there any auditions_

_In New York City?_

_Sincerely,_

_Jessica Ramsey_

_WY KIDS SHUD NOT GAMBAL_

_Buy: Claudia Kishi_

_Kids ar not risposabl enuf too gambal. If yu _

_whant to gambal, you nead to no the risx thet go _

_along weth it. Sumtims yu kan win muny but some _

_times you dont. At tims yu mite evan loose mony. _

_If yu do'not hav money, yoo can'not by thengs that_

_you mite neede, lik close._

And so concludes our trip to Las Vegas. I only wish I'd been able to solve the mystery of Jayne. I know she mentioned ordering office supplies, but maybe that was just because she knew I was on to her and she wanted to lead me off the track. Hopefully my mention of her in my letter to the hotel would get the management to keep an eye on her and see if she was up to anything illegal.

Nanny got over her gambling addiction and has been paying better attention to the kids. I saw her at the park with Andrew and Emily Michelle and she looked very happy. Claudia's essay was approved by the principal and she's not in any more trouble. Logan and Mary Anne are now happy and she even went bowling with him and Pete and Alan! Stacey and Taylor and Abby and Blaine continue to write to each other. I'm always impressed at how many of us manage to fall in love when we go on vacation.

Now that the BSC has conquered Las Vegas, who knows where we'll go next? Maybe we could fly around the world!


End file.
